


Bitter End

by Dokt0rGunn



Series: Hide Your Fires [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Anal Sex, Atlas CEO Rhys, Autoerotic Asphyxiation, Dark, Dark Rhys, F/M, Light Bondage, M/M, Multi, Multiple Types of Abuse, No Fluff, POV First Person, POV Multiple, POV Third Person Limited, Psychological Torture, Rhack Smut, Torture, mild bloodplay, rhack - Freeform, sort of slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-09-21 03:41:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 71,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9530063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dokt0rGunn/pseuds/Dokt0rGunn
Summary: "No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks."- Mary WollstonecraftAct One - What Makes An Atlas CEO?Act Two - How to Break It All Down





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this I want to be very clear for any shippers. Any Rhysha will be related almost entirely via journal entries during Act One. Any Rhack will not really start until Act Two. The Rhack will have smut. The Rhysha will not. Sorry, just how the plot worked out. 
> 
> Additionally while I tried to tag this appropriately for anyone who doesn't want to read this sort of thing, I feel I should put one more warning here and make it clear that both relationships will have types of abuse involved. If this is going to bother you, please do not read this fan fiction. 
> 
> Also I'm editing it myself, so if you notice any typos, or spelling errors, or grammar errors - please say something in the comments.
> 
> Chapter Song: Bitter End (By, Rag n Bones Man)

 

 _“Yet each man kills the thing he loves_  
_By each let this be heard_  
_Some do it with a bitter look_  
_Some with a flattering word_  
_The coward does it with a kiss_  
_The brave man with a sword”_  
\- Oscar Wilde 

 

* * *

**Five Years After Opening the Vault of the Traveler**

* * *

 

Rhys sat in his office, he only had the sounds of the orbital stations engines to keep him company, a slow hum in the background. He was rubbing his temple with his mechanical hand, the cool metal felt pleasant in the face of his headache. His other hand was clenched in a fist on his desk. Today had not gone to plan. 

_It had taken hard work, crazy plans, and constant risks to get it off the ground. It was all worth it, Atlas was back and under his control. He had always wanted this. The throne. Now it was his._

His ECHO beeped to indicate his secretary was trying to contact him. A slight snarl twisted his face for a moment before he answered the call. 

"Sir, there's...there are some people here, they're insisting on being let in to see you..."

"By people, you mean the Pandoran scum who broke into this facility twenty minutes ago; correct?" 

"Y-yes...sir, I uhm, I believe that to be correct," there was an angry voice in the background muffled by distance, but Rhys knew that voice anywhere. 

"Sasha's with them, isn't she?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Answer the damn question you moron!" 

"YES," the terrified shriek was so loud he could actually hear it through the door, "yes Sir, she's right he-"

A screeching noise cut into the feed for a moment and there was the sound of a scuffle, "Rhys if you don't open this door I'm going to use your secretary as a battering ram!" 

There she was, the woman who had stuck by him through it all, she was made of fire and gunpowder - Sasha. 

"What did Bart ever do to you?" he quipped rolling his eyes, he would show no emotion, absolutely no weakness. 

"For fucks sake Rhys," Sasha sounded furious, "even I know the guys name is Bruce!"

Rhys shrugged before realizing she couldn't see him, "listen, sweetheart, you know normally for you I would open the door right up, but seeing as you're in the middle of betraying me, that's not going to happen. But hey, you want to use Barry's skull to try and knock down the door, you're welcome to try."

"You son of a bitch! I am done with this bullshit Rhys, you betrayed me! You with your stupid choices, you think I want to do this! You think I wanted to hear about what you've been doing behind my back! And how can you act like you're still in the right...after Vaughn-"

_Vaughn pushed his buttons all the time, more and more as the years went on. His constant moralizing and reminders of 'past sins' was like a cheese grater pressed to Rhys' brain. And of course every time Vaughn got drunk he would whine about Yvette. About how he should have saved her on Helios. Pathetic. She had betrayed them! She'd gotten off easy._

The call ended in a splutter of noise as he turned off his ECHO. He didn't need to hear her...her lies. He knew what he needed to do. 

Sighing Rhys' eyes drifted down to his clenched fist and he slowly opened it to reveal his old echo eye, "well, you were right you know, took a while; but they turned on me..."

The old piece of technology predictably did not respond. 

_Even after all the pain and agony of removing him - he could never quite get rid of the Jack AI, and when he'd found Jack's body; well he couldn't get rid of that either._

He stood and started to walk across his office, stopping very briefly to glance out the window. Not nearly as big as Helios, but they got closer everyday. The orbital station was the latest project for Atlas. He frowned as he examined the pockmarked skin of Pandora below. He saw nothing appealing in it anymore. 

He turned to his goal, a large metal container against the wall. He reached out with the old echo eye hesitating for just a moment before placing it in a slot on the front of the case. 

**_MEMORY MATRIX ACCEPTED - INSTALLING IN UNIT & INITIATING REVIVAL _ ** **_PROCEDURES_ **

**_2%_**

"You should be able to hear me now," he addressed the box as he returned to his desk, "I think you'll be happy with the results, and you might have been...you may have been more right than I thought you were. Well you'll. I think you'll hear all of it. But I can promise you, if you help me when this thing is done, I'll make sure it's worth it to you. Besides, you're going to need me." 

**_7%_**

The reinforced door blasted off it's hinges and smoke briefly obscured the entrance to his office. It cleared as the group of Pandorans entered, guns raised. 

"You have a hell of a lot to answer for this time Rhys," Fiona shouted leading the group in.

"Well, that was dramatic," he muttered.

"You're dramatic!" Gortys' small voice piped up; really, they brought Gortys?

Rhys raised one eyebrow, "I'm not the one breaking into a restricted facility, blowing up office doors, and shouting."

Gortys seemed instantly confused, "oh. Well that is true."

LoaderBot bent down, "don't forget why we're here."

"Oh," Gortys' voice became sad, "right - you're a bad person now."

**_10%_**

Rhys frowned, "I am not a bad person. I'm a person who is doing what's necessary."

"But...Fiona said you're why Vaughn is hurt," Gortys turned towards his one time partner in Vault Hunting for confirmation.

_Red. Then blood. A metal fist could do a lot of damage when a man was in a rage. He should have never started to trust Vaughn again._

"Yes, he did," Fiona's voice was all sharp edges, "and then he lied about it."

"Well, what was I supposed to do, look how you're reacting," the Atlas CEO argued gesturing with one hand.

_**13%**_

Fiona almost growled, "how about, you were supposed to not hurt your best friend in the first place!"

"He's not my best friend."

"Oh, believe me, we got that memo. Why did you do it?"

"He tried to stop me from doing what needed to be done! I didn't want to do it; I had to."

"You broke his skull Rhys! There were bruises all over his neck, you beat him within an inch of his life, he may never walk properly again, and then your medics kept him tied to a bed drugged out of his mind for months!" Fiona took a step closer and Rhys twitched ever so slightly.

_He hovered over the medical bed, Vaughn was starting to regain consciousness and was making pained mumbling noises. He smiled down at him and Vaughn seemed to panic when he realized who was leaning over him. "Don't try to talk, don't struggle, we'll be keeping you on a steady diet of shut your mouth juice. Keep you right out of it. That way when Fiona and Sasha get here I can send them to take care of the Psychos who attacked you while you were out on the road. You should really be more careful Vaughn."_

"You had to believe it was Psychos," Rhys laced his fingers together to keep them from shaking. He really hadn't meant to get so out of control with Vaughn. 

**_21%_**

"Or you got angry and did something unforgivable; then you came up with whatever excuse you felt like so you could justify your actions to yourself," Sasha finally spoke up her voice cracking with emotion, "I've watched you do it before Rhys, you twist things in your head so you never have to feel guilt."

"Sasha-" he leaned forward, "you know that's not true babe-"

"-Dammit Rhys, enough!" Sasha walked past her sister and was now closest to the desk, "just admit what you've done and hand yourself over for a trial."

"A trial?" Rhys giggled, "Pandorans holding a trial; oh man - that is funny. You guys don't even have laws! What would you charge me with?"

"Kidnapping to start," Fiona said her gun now coming out of her sleeve.

"Destruction of property," Gortys added.

"Forced experimentation," LoaderBot.

"Or how about mass murder," Sasha.

His patience was reaching the end of it's limits and he let his face twist into an ugly snarl, "Hollow Point had to go, I did you all a favor!"

_When Jack had launched a moonshot at Prosperity Junction after he had suggested taking out bandits to the AI he had felt terrible. But at the same time he had found a perverse joy attached to his actions. It was like being a god._

"By killing Athena and Janey?" Sasha clenched her hands into fists, "or did you forget about them?! And the fact that they were in Hollow Point when you blew the whole place up!"

_Athena, stalking into his office like she owned it, accusing him of taking things too far. She had called him dangerous. Told him if the new Atlas kept up in the direction he was headed she would take them out the same as the last time._

Rhys rolled his eyes, "hard to regret that seeing as I know they'd just be here with you now, stabbing me in the back, sooner actually, did you know Athena actually threatened me."

**_28%_**

"We both agreed Rhys, we agreed after the vault that we couldn't go after it, that it was too dangerous for anyone to have," Fiona ran a hand across her face, "if Athena threatened you I can only assume it's because she figured out you hadn't given up on this. I told you what I saw! How can you just ignore everything I told you?"

_Fiona was freaking out, "you don't understand Rhys! The damage this could do. I saw what could happen if anyone ever tracks this junk down and uses it. You could destroy everything!" So he had promised her, swore he would leave it be, he had known he was lying even then, but really wasn't it better that she just not worry about it?_

"And I told you what I saw, with that kind of power I could fix everything...and you want to just lock it away, we could change the Universe Fiona, for the better."

_They had been gone for an hour when they returned from the vault, but for Rhys it had been longer. He wasn't sure how long. But longer for sure. It had been information. Technology more deadly and beautiful than anything he had ever seen. With this he could change everything._

"You only saw the good half Rhys, you didn't see the warnings, I got all of them, we should never have split that vault, the warnings were with the rest of the information for a reason."

Rhys scoffed, "warnings from moron aliens too afraid to use the power they had. As if they could be trusted."

"Look what this has done to you already," Sasha shouted, "you almost killed Vaughn, you destroyed Hollow Point, you've been destabilizing the whole region with your drilling, you kidnapped people and gave them to your freaky scientist squad. If you really thought you were doing the right thing you wouldn't have hidden it all from us."

**_34%_**

Rhys' eyes narrowed, "none of you can see the bigger picture, I kept it hidden from you because you can't understand, there's no way you would get it."

"More bullshit," Sasha scowled and raised her gun towards him, "enough of this, you're coming with us. Now."

Rhys leaned forward, "do you want me to die Sasha, really, I thought you loved me."

_Dates got less frequent as Atlas business picked up. Rhys found he had less and less time for anything else. Even Sasha, and yet - she was always there. Never got mad._

"I do love you," her voice was anguished, "I moved up here with you, I believed in you, in your vision, even when my own sister said you were wrong. I still love you Rhys, but I was so blind, that vault did something to you. Made you cold, capable of things I never thought...you have to be stopped, if you come to your trial peacefully they might be lenient."

Rhys rolled his eyes, "I've told you, the vault didn't do anything, I'm still me, nothing changed. I always planned to change things for the better, fix things. I just found a way to do it."

"I really hope that's not true," Sasha sounded disappointed and it was funny, but out of anything happening that was the most infuriating part, "now put your hands up and step out from the desk."

**_42%_**

Rhys closed his eyes for a moment doing his best to look defeated, in truth though he was using his echo eye, he never really thought he'd get through to them with words, but he had hoped.

**ATLAS OFFICE DEFENSES ACTIVATED**

"You son of a bitch," Fiona swore diving behind a filing cabinet as turrets came out of the floor and a shield formed around the desk.

The battle was harsh and fast, Rhys spent most of it directing turrets and robots and then during the last minute he'd been stuck using his desk as cover and attempting to fend them off with the latest Atlas handgun. It had an auto-aim feature and once it was out of the prototype phase it ensured him enough money to put Atlas on top finally.

Unfortunately auto-aim only did so much against a vault hunter and Fiona had obviously been training. 

**_47%_**

The gun clattered to the floor and Rhys lashed out with his metal arm, he was pretty sure he'd connected with Fiona because he could hear her swearing as LoaderBot grappled him to the floor. 

"You tried to kill us," Sasha's eyes were wide with disbelief, "you tried to kill me."

"Lighten up sweetheart," he laughed as he was roughly hauled to his feet and cuffed, "you're trying to kill me after all."

"Enough talking asshole, start walking," Fiona jammed a gun against his spine and started to march him out of the room.

**_58%_**

Rhys was force marched out of the room and past...Ben? He really never could remember the guys name; plus it was sort of funny to watch his secretary twitch every time he got it wrong.

"Do me a favor and send out a memo to proceed as normal Brad, I'll be back soon."

"It's still Bruce Sir," he squeaked from behind his desk. 

"Uh huh, memo now Bryan."

"Did you hit him in the head?" Gortys' voice piped up with what sounded oddly like concern. 

"He's just an asshole," Fiona responded.

**_65%_**

"Do you really think you'll make it out of here?" Rhys finally asked, "I have guards everywhere, from here all the way to your ship."

"They gonna shoot if I have a gun pointed at your throat? Because I will shoot Rhys, so you better hope they don't," Fiona spoke evenly and calmly. 

The charming con artist he had once met was basically non existent. Rhys wondered if his initial theory that the vault had changed her was correct? Something clicked in his mind. That made sense. She'd seen warnings, and they had clearly hardened her into this shell of a person who was incapable of seeing the big picture. Trauma could do terrible things.

**_74%_**

Fiona had infected the others with her paranoia, it was tragic really, and infuriating since one of the infected parties was his girlfriend. 

_When he realized Vaughn had escaped he had called down to Pandora right away. He had to get Sasha home before anyone else talked to her. But he had been too late. Sasha knew. Fiona knew. He'd killed Vaughn's guards personally._

The worst part was, he'd been so close to telling Sasha everything. The big plan. The truth he had seen in blazing colour. But it was too late, a lump formed in his throat, they were all going to have to be imprisoned, or die if capture was impossible. 

His guards as it turned out did in fact back out of the way when they realized Fiona had a gun to him. But Rhys wasn't worried, the benefits of cybernetics was that he was easily tracked.

Besides his guard captain would be receiving an update on how he wanted the situation handled as soon as he left the station. 

**_82%_**

As they reached the ship Rhys made a last ditch effort against his better judgement, "Sasha, baby, please stop this, you know I'm just trying to do what's right."

"Save it for the trial Rhys," she turned away and refused to look at him, "dating you was the biggest mistake of my life."

A fury gripped Rhys and he lunged forward giving LoaderBot and Fiona a struggle to hold onto him for a moment, "your worst mistake was betraying me. You should ask around about what happened to the last person who tried to betray me."

Sasha entered the vessels side door, "I don't see how you're going to do anything to me Rhys."

"Just wait," he responded voice flat, "I'm not done yet."

**_98%_**

The ship launched from the Atlas orbital station and they chained him down to the back of the ship.

"You're going to pay for everything," Fiona informed him coldly, "so don't look so smug jackass."

A grin spread across Rhys' face but he didn't say anything. No reason to spoil the surprise. 

**_100%_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did Rhys become such a complete bastard? No worries! All will be explained over the course of Act One. 
> 
> Alright, so I should have chapter one up for you all in a few days, I'm going to try and update this as regularly as I possibly can, I do have a full plan for this story, so provided nothing interrupts it shouldn't be an issue.
> 
> I do have a playlist for Act One posted up (if you happen to be interested) on both [8tracks](http://8tracks.com/dokt0r-g/bitter-end-act-one) and [GooglePlay](https://play.google.com/music/playlist/AMaBXymY7hnWQCJETyEGuR589gwHs5kVNt_1bVOt_HLYnyQEbgahQ-6X3dWhJq-DQLSCvt8CxgJBXJag03enUOlZY9JBFMV2Ig==)
> 
> Each song is a different chapter starting with the first song being the prologue.
> 
> Oh and if you want to find me on Tumblr I mostly post Borderlands stuff on "major-rhack" though you can also find me under "dokt0rgunn".


	2. Act One // Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: My Mamma Said (By, Aqua)

 

_“The fact is that we have no way of knowing if the person who we think we are is at the core of our being._  
_Are you a decent girl with the potential to someday become an evil monster,  
o_ _r are you an evil monster that thinks it's a decent girl?"_  
\- Derek Landy

**  
**

* * *

****Act One // Chapter One** **

* * *

  

A hiss filled the room as the metal case slid open and Handsome Jack sat up. 

He stared down at his arms, taking a moment to appreciate having a physical form, oxygen, adrenaline.

Rhys clearly had managed to integrate his AI's memories into his mind somehow, although they felt more like a story he'd read than true memories. It was for the best perhaps given he suspected had they felt more real, he might simply kill the Atlas CEO on sight.

A cough came from the blown open door and a man Jack had never seen side stepped into the office. This must be that secretary guy Rhys couldn't remember the name of, honestly Jack couldn't blame him, the guy was so utterly unremarkable looking it was almost amazing.

"Sir, Rhys asked me to deliver this when you woke," the man held out a tablet in shaking hands as Jack climbed out of the machine. 

Jack grabbed it and examined the screen where a video of Rhys himself in new fancy duds sat paused. After a moment he realized the secretary was still standing there, "you can leave now."

The man squeaked like a dying baby Rakk and ran from the room. Funny. 

"Hi Jack," the Rhys in the video seemed way less certain of himself than the one that had just been hauled off. He was clearly nervous, eyes darting from side to side as though he might be caught at any moment.

How long had this been his backup plan?

"I'm sure you're laughing to yourself, why would you come help me out of whatever I've gotten myself into. But I have something you want. Need actually provided your goals haven't changed. 

"The Vault of the Traveler, it showed me a new Eridian weapon," Rhys' voice picked up and his pupils dilated, "I already have the first half and the second half is buried on Pandora, with it we can wipe out every bandit or psycho, and not just here either. I left details on this tablet. But here's why you need me Jack, you can only make it work if you've used the Vault of the Traveler. In case I've died you might be able to use Fiona, but believe me - she won't do it willingly. I don't know who it is that got me, I don't know what happened for me to bring you back. If I had to I would guess Athena is to blame. Regardless my company is at your disposal, you'll find I signed over the CEO position to you. I can't get this far and not finish now, I don't care what it costs me."

Rhys' tongue flicked out nervously on the grainy screen, "Jack, you're the...you're the only person I can trust with this."

Jack put the tablet down on Rhys' desk and ran one hand along his chin feeling the familiar metal clasp. The kid had done better than expected, maybe he was actually worth keeping around. Besides, he sounded desperate, and Jack liked desperate. 

When he checked the Atlas systems he discovered that Rhys had in fact really signed the company over to him. No legal loop holes. Nothing weird. It was his. There was a simple notation at the bottom of the legal documents, ' _thanks for letting me borrow it."_

A small smile tugged at the man's face, borrowed. As though Rhys had popped by for tea and just 'borrowed' the Atlas Corporation from him. 

A message from security popped up on the computer screen noting that the Pandoran bandits were moving Rhys towards something called the Children of Helios camp, additionally they were requesting to send cloaked surveillance after the group to determine an effective extraction time. 

Jack leaned back and considered it for a moment before telling security to go for it. He at the very least wanted to hear out this plan in person. 

Another alert popped up on the screen, an automatic reminder for Rhys.

**_Journal_**

Journal? Rhys had a journal? Like a diary? Jack cackled as an image of the lanky man writing with gel pens in a fluffy pink diary while sprawled out on his stomach popped into his head. 

Without further ado he clicked on the alert bringing up a page with twelve links on it. Well, it was better than sitting here doing nothing while he waited on security.  

* * *

  **Entry One**

_I suppose if I'm going to do this right I'll have to start at the beginning. I've never really kept a journal before, but Sasha suggested it might help me sort out my thoughts._

_My name is Rhys, and I was born on planet Promethea. Although there's no one left alive who knows that._

_If you hate Pandora, you'll absolutely loath Promethea. It's the only thing that keeps Pandora from claiming the title of worst planet in the galaxy._

_Promethea is like if you cut anything remotely good about Pandora out of it; oh and made the whole thing a scorched irradiated wasteland. Everyone is at war with everyone else, allies are a foreign concept, and the Crimson Lance think they should get to tell all the people what to do. Plus Atlas drained whatever was useful out of Promethea a long time ago._

_I was born into a tribe of superstitious idiots; except my mother, my mother was different, smarter, just a better person all around._

_To be clear, when I say superstitious idiots, I mean I have a ton of blue tattoos down one side of me because of them. They're supposed to "ward off demons" or some crap. Probably. I'm not one hundred percent sure, you see it's hard to pay attention to the details when you're five and a crazy old shaman is stabbing you over and over again with a sharpened bone. Oh yeah, that's right, they were done the traditional way. Which sucks in case you weren't getting that. When I got the one I have on my neck as an adult it was a cake walk - the tattoo gun is a goddamned miracle as far as I'm concerned._

_My father was the encampments lead tech expert. Which is to say they stole things from passing groups and it was my fathers job to figure out how they worked, hopefully without blowing us all up. I was expected to do the same once I grew up. We weren't a big tribe so we had to be more clever than the next group. But that isn't really saying much given most tribes on Promethea have one solution to any problem and one only - they stab said problem until it goes away or dies._

_I was really good with technology from the start, had a natural talent for understanding it. My father never seemed impressed by anything I did, even when (or perhaps in retrospect especially when) I outdid him._

_That being said even if they were slightly more advanced than the next tribe down the line, they were a barbaric sort of people._

_For my people you were grown up at ten years old, if you passed the trial. My older sister had passed with an injury that left her limping for the rest of her life, my older brother had not been as lucky._

_I would watch older children go off into the irradiated wastes of Promethea after fasting with the shaman for two days and I always wondered what they were going looking for. Well - until my brother died, after that I was terrified._

_As it turns out I would never find out what happened during the trial, my mother had decided I would fail if I was sent, a combination of fear after my brother and the fact that I've always been thin. So she ran away with me in the middle of the night, and smuggled me onto a spaceship._

_I remember telling her that it was okay, that I didn't have to go, and when she insisted I had to, I tried desperately to get her to come with me. I didn't understand that one child stowed away might stay hidden where an adult and child simply could not. Finally she promised me she would come on the next ship. It was a blatant lie of course, but it was the only way she could get me to go._

_I sneaked off of the ship when it reached Eden-5 and as far as I know the crew never knew I'd been there at all. I hid in the spaceport for days waiting for my mother, in fact I was there until I came down with a cold at which point one of the guards found me because I was coughing._

_Eden-5 is like heaven when compared to a place like Promethea, and since it's an actual civilization with social policies and a real government - I got placed in a foster home._

_I was moody, unresponsive, and rude. My poor foster parents had to teach me basics of societal niceties, how to be polite, even how to use a fork. I mean it cannot have been easy. To top it off I kept sneaking back to the spaceport because I was worried I'd miss my mother arriving._

_It continued that way until the new school year started. Much to my surprise and that of my nervous foster parents, I loved school. It was hard at first, very hard, but for the first time in my life I could learn something about everything. Not just stuff that helped the tribe, but whatever I wanted. It was like seeing sunlight for the first time._

_Slowly overtime I accepted that my mother was never coming and I committed myself to doing better than everyone around me._

_Eventually I met Vaughn. Or more accurately I found Vaughn being bullied by a large idiot from my class who I had never liked. Even back on Promethea I avoided fights, better to wait for an opportunity with a clear advantage for me than get in a fist fight. So I really don't know what possessed me on this occasion to throw a rock at the large dunces head._

_I got in a lot of trouble for that one. The big idiot bled and cried all over the place, that was the incident that got me moved to my second foster home actually. But I did make a friend for life, tiny little round Vaughn. Not so round these days, but he was back then._

_When we went to College we met Yvette. She initially hated the two of us. We met her because we'd helped arrange an admittedly loud prank in the library, the library she had been studying in. But Vaughn liked her (personally I always thought he had a thing for her), and he was persistent, she finally warmed up when he bought her lunch for a month to make up for our "transgressions" - really should have seen her for the worthless traitorous mooch she was then and there. But eh, you live and you learn right?_

_It was while there that we decided we would all go work at Hyperion and use our combined skills to get ahead of everyone else. Thus our unholy little trinity was born._

_We'd all seen the advertisements online, work for a corporation on the cutting edge. For Vaughn and Yvette it was all about the money. They weren't particularly attached to any large corporation over another._

_But me. Well, of course I was the one who had chosen Hyperion. I was a fan of Handsome Jack from the moment he showed up in the promotional videos. He was always talking about changing things. Fixing the less civilized planets. I watched every single piece of those videos, and listened to every ad, I was absolutely absorbed._

_I know here on Pandora they talk about Jack like he's some monster, but on the Edens he was talked about almost reverently, the man who was finally stemming the chaos Atlas had unleashed._

_We all got hired straight out of University and moved onto Helios. The first time I saw Helios in person I was in awe. I had spent so long dreaming of it._

_About halfway through our tour of the facility Handsome Jack had come on the Helios intercom with an announcement. Some high up had been selling corporate secrets to Maliwan; he let us listen to this guy beg and then strangled him all while still on the intercom explaining calmly that he didn't take betrayal lightly._

_Vaughn and Yvette had both looked properly horrified, and I remember smiling awkwardly while trying to hide that small thrill that had run through me. That was power. Real power. The ability to do that with no repercussions was incredible. I was hooked on the Hyperion mentality immediately._

_As I was shown my little cubical in data mining I remember feeling like everything was right. Like I belonged. Like I could really accomplish something great. Maybe I still will._

* * *

 Well damn, Promethea. 

If Jack had been asked to guess where Rhys was born Promethea wouldn't have even made the list. Honestly he'd pegged the string-bean as more of a cushy Aquator sort of guy. Although it did explain a few things. He'd certainly stayed calmer on Pandora than Jack had expected. Abs guy had even commented on it at one point. The more Jack thought about it, the more things clicked into place, odd habits, micro expressions that were just a little bit off. The raw steel when he'd ripped out his own cybernetics.

Security now had drones circling the outside of the Children of Helios base, and Jack rolled his eyes. His ex employees were actually living in the ruins of Helios. Because of course the little idiots were. 

Jack turned away from the camera feed and back to Rhys' journal, they wouldn't kill the kid yet, not until they'd had their little trial. Bandits were so dumb. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that was not too short, I am having a hell of a time attempting to flesh out anything written in first person. I find it really easy to write first person, but it is also REALLY easy to gloss over details. 
> 
> Next chapter we get entry number two as well as a small surprise for Jack.
> 
> Please do comment if you have anything to say or any questions! I love hearing from people!
> 
> Also the full "soundtrack" via album art on [tumblr]().


	3. Act One // Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Virgin (By, Manchester Orchestra)

_“If you have to injure someone, then make it so severe_  
_that his vengeance need not be feared.”_  
\- Michael Scott

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Two**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Two**

_I climbed the ranks at Hyperion quickly much to the frustration of a number of my peers in data mining. The advantage of entering the company with allies in accounting and requisitions simply couldn't be beat. Every time I moved up, I made sure Vaughn and Yvette did too, pretty soon our co-workers learned to just get out of our way if we wanted something. It was a big game to me and I loved nearly every part of it, the razor sharp smiles, swiping someones dreams out from under them, finding the loophole. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the occasional murders. We did admittedly cause one or two suicides but I liked to tell myself it didn't count, it was a murder loop hole._

_I had recently been promoted into the range of middle management (only a couple of ranks down from Henderson) when I got my hands on the assignment that changed everything for me._

_Upper management needed someone to supervise scans on Promethea, and I jumped at the chance._

_Well, not jumped so much as causally volunteered, it wasn't a glorious job, so it wasn't exactly difficult to get and I really didn't want anyone guessing at ulterior motives. So I acted like it was no big deal, "sure sir, I'll take care of Promethea, no problem."_

_Vaughn referred to it as a waste of my talents. He was also quite certain that I was about to die and throw all of our work away._

_"Do you know the chances of survival down there Rhys?! It's not good! I didn't do all this for you to die now, that guy down in maintenance that killed himself because of us is going to haunt my dreams forever if we don't make this all worth it."_

_I remember rolling my eyes, Vaughn has always been kind of over dramatic, but Helios was what made him extra twitchy, "first of all it's official Hyperion business it's not as though I'm going to Promethea alone, I'll have loader-bots, guards, and scan-bots with me. Secondly I have a good feeling about this man."_

_Vaughn seemed doubtful, his face scrunching into that frown he does whenever he thinks I'm being an idiot, "if you die, I will be pissed."_

_My official mission was to scan for any Eridian technology missed by Atlas corporation. Hyperion had just developed a new sort of scanner that was tuned specifically to things of Eridian nature._

_But that wasn't why I'd taken it of course. I wanted to know what had happened to my mother, and this was my chance to find out. I didn't expect it to be good, I had researched into my tribes culture when I was in college and I discovered they tended to be fairly unforgiving when someone broke the rules. But I had to know for sure._

_When I arrived at the tribe I found the clan looked smaller than I remembered it. Less people. Tiny sad little huts._

_As the scan-bots began analyzing the area, the village elders parlayed with me, them seated on their little floor mats while I had of course brought a chair, it was nice looking down at them, like an Emperor looking over their sad little subjects, I'd earned it. They of course didn't even realize who I was, not that I'd expected them to, it had been more than fifteen years._

_I chose to spin a story in order to find out where my mother was, it was better than admitting the truth with Hyperion guards around. I couldn't even begin to imagine the damage it could do to my career if anyone ever found out where I was from. So I would be perfectly Hyperion, no one would suspect a thing._

_"I met a boy once on Eden-5," I informed them casually, "he told me all about you and your," I paused to sneer dismissively, "home."_

_The old woman in the middle's eyes bulged like she'd been hit, "we know of this boy."_

_I let myself chuckle for a moment before smiling like a shark, "he's dead now, but before he died he told me he left some great treasure here, kept mumbling it over and over again, so let's just say that's got me curious."_

_The woman laughed suddenly as though I'd told a joke, "he meant his mother you Hyperion scum, I can understand the confusion, you probably hatched from an egg like a snake."_

_"Original," I snorted "why would his mother be a treasure?"_

_"The foolish woman sent him away, to keep him from our ways," the old man on the right spoke now, "she paid for her crimes, but I believe her son would might call her a treasure, in our tribes ways a treasure does not mean material wealth, it means someone you love and respect greatly."_

_"Wait, her crime was sending her kid to Eden-5?" I rolled my eyes even as my stomach clenched, "you really are a backwards little people aren't you?"_

_"She betrayed our ways," the woman snarled her old wrinkled face twisting hideously, "she was left in the wastes to starve and appease the spirits she offended with her crimes."_

_I was beyond rage. I saw red. It took every ounce of my being to keep it in. Carefully trying to control every muscle in my face I smirked condescendingly and stood up "this being why Handsome Jack is cleaning people like this out. They're basically animals."_

_My guards laughed of course, the elders looked offended, but more importantly they were obviously afraid. Evoking the name Handsome Jack to people like this was a fast way to remind them that Hyperion shot people like them for kicks everyday._

_I was trying to figure out the least suspicious way to convince the guards to kill the tribe when the scan-bots sent me an alert, they had actually found something._

_They had found Eridium._

_A substance only ever found before on Pandora, and here it was buried miles under my tribe. The were sitting on valuables beyond their wildest dreams, and they had no idea. My revenge was immediately shoved to the back of my mind; this could be the thing that pushed me into the big leagues._

_I left most of my men at the site in order to hold it and went straight to the planet's administrator. Hyperion needed that land._

_I got Vaughn on ECHO as soon as we got close to a transmitter. I quickly_ _explained the situation and had him find out how many funds could be diverted to buy the land without alerting the higher ups, I wanted the credit for this. The amount he could get me wouldn't be close to enough if the administrator suspected something valuable was underneath._ _But we'd need mining permits. He would know something was up._

_I was halfway to the mans door when I was struck with the perfect idea. I  leaned down and rubbed dirt on the knees of my pants then placed a small smudge on my cheek. Glancing up I found the commander of my guards looking at me like I'd lost my mind. I just grinned, he'd understand soon enough._

_I entered the planet administrator's grubby little office like I owned the place, nose held high, while letting a little of that anger I felt filter through to my expression._

_"You've got a bandit problem on this planet administrator," I spoke as haughtily as possible._

_The large man seemed unimpressed, "Hyperion huh; you lot call anything that looks at you wrong bandits."_

_I sighed as though he were very stupid and then put my hands on the desk while leaning forward into his space, "well in this case these bandits can bring your office some real funding," I glanced around and sniffed, "you could clearly use it."_

_"Speak plain Hyperion, what do you want," he practically growled._

_"When I was out on official Hyperion business an absolutely barbaric little group of thugs attacked me," I pointed down at my knees, "look what they did to my pants!"_

_The administrator raised an eyebrow, "so why didn't you just kill them, you've got a whole artillery following you around."_

_"Because I have something better in mind," I smiled as cruelly as I could muster, it wasn't difficult, I was feeling pretty cruel, "I want to buy their little village from you, and then I'm going to gut their home, bulldoze that little hill they live on and build an underground retreat for employees who find themselves assigned to this disgusting little planet."_

_After that it was a cake walk. The man thought I was some rich idiot and he was more than happy to take my money. I'm willing to bet when they started hauling Eridium out of there he was slapping himself silly. Yvette sent out the mining equipment immediately and the three of us claimed the record for the fastest and cheapest requisition of Eridium in the companies history._

_Hyperion killed the tribe while taking control of the land; there were protests on the Edens when a loader-bot's record of the incident got leaked to the press._

_Vaughn had been furious with me for the first time since we'd become friends. He had always just gone along with my plans prior to this and I hadn't expected him to have an issue with this one._

_"You didn't tell me there were people living there Rhys! We could have moved them," he looked desperate, "we could have mined it from an angle, bought the land next to them!"_

_"They were just a bunch of barbarians Vaughn," I laughed it off, "you didn't see them Vaughn, they were a scourge on the area, Promethea is better off without them."_

_Vaughn seemed almost hurt, "I did see them Rhys, I've watched the footage, they were just people."_

_I brushed it off but Vaughn didn't talk to me for almost a week until Yvette got fed up with it and snapped at him to get over himself._

_I did go watch the leaked recording, and I tried to feel some sort of remorse, but all I felt was right. These idiots were why my mother was dead. They deserved what they got._

_We each received a very nice quarterly bonus for our efforts and I used mine to pay for my cybernetics. I'd been eyeing the latest in Hyperion cybernetics for a while. In a department like data mining I was well aware that they could give me an extra advantage over everyone else._

_Vaughn spent weeks trying to convince me not to. He seemed terrified of the idea._

_He had an entire rant perfected by the time the surgery was set to come around about about how unsafe it seemed, about how they could mind control me, he even got into some of the 'pull out the tinfoil hat' level conspiracy theories._

_I mean, it was admittedly somewhat unsafe, but I knew the risks. The procedure used to implant my echo eye and port were fairly experimental at the time. A very small portion of the surface of my brain was replaced to better integrate with the cybernetics._

_It's really a very minimal amount of brain tissue, but I knew better than to try and explain that to Vaughn._

_He did make me a little nervous I admit, but in retrospect it's one of the best choices I ever made for my own health. You see when you hook metal into your brain it has to be further stabilized, encased in order to prevent a single blow to the head from jarring things around and killing you._

_I get hit in the head a lot. I can honestly assume if not for the encasement I would have had some serious concussions by now._

_The surgery itself took most of a day, nineteen hours to be precise. Yvette told me that Vaughn had left the observation room the moment they cut into my arm. She on the other hand had stayed in order to make sure the whole thing was recorded (by my request). I owed her lunches for a long time after that._

_The first time I woke up I was in so much pain I screamed, or so I'm told, I don't really remember it, but apparently I scared the shit out of Vaughn. The medics had sedated me and by the next time I woke up the pain was not so bad, the recovery took time, unfortunately you can't use Anshins because it causes the cybernetics to not bond properly_ _. But my new advantages more than made up for the  time lost at work._

_I can see how some people get addicted to cybernetics. It's nice to be better than other people, more. But in my case staying more human than robot was important. A lot of people are uncomfortable around cyborgs, and the more cybernetics you have, the more uncomfortable they get._

_I have what I estimated to be just enough to keep any people I was dealing with on edge, but not enough that they'd outright refuse to speak to me._

_It's worked pretty well._

_I think Vaughn was more distracted by my cybernetics than I was. Which is frankly astounding given that for the first week I kept accidentally scanning things before I got the hang of it._

_Conversations with Vaughn were always a little bit awkward after that, his eyes would drift to my arm or my eye and he'd get this funny look I've never been able to decipher. Between the Eridium deal and the cybernetics_ _I had put a distance between us and I really wasn't sure how to bridge it back._

_But with my new upgrades I easily snagged another promotion within the year, I was finally reporting directly to Henderson._

_A little while after that is when it all went to hell, Handsome Jack died, Hyperion got even more full of douche-bags, and everyone thought they could do whatever they wanted all of the sudden._

_I got screwed over by Vasquez, and well, I've told the next story so many times I'm sick of it; besides, it is already very well documented._

 

* * *

 

Jack raised an eyebrow, well documented? A quick search on the echo network found that Loaderbot had published a book called the "Tale of the Vault of the Traveler."

It was even a best seller.

Jack scanned over the top rated reviews.

 _'In this true story we see love, loss, and betrayal._  
_If I hadn't watched Helios crash I would never have believed it._  
_- **Sir Hammerlock** '_

 _'Unveiling once and for all the scumbag Hyperion attitude,_  
_and the psychopath that was Handsome Jack._  
_We should all watch the new Atlas CEO very carefully._  
_- **Lillith** '_

 _'Why are cyborgs always douchey_  
_white guys in pop culture?_  
_- **Gaige** '_

A hesitant knock sounded at the remains of the office door and the boring secretary man peeked in, "uhm, Sir - Rhys left me a...he said I should uhm...that is," he looked terrified and was clutching a medium sized metal case to his chest like it was a safety blanket, "if you're settled in now that is..."

Jack sighed, "spit it out before I shoot you dum dum, you're making me really bored."

"Rhys told me to give you this!" He held the case in front of his face as though it would stop a bullet.

Jack motioned to the desk exasperated, how had Rhys gotten anything done with a secretary who was this high strung?

The man stumbled forward and placed the case on the desk. It had a lock on it.

"Where's the key moron?"

"Rhys said you had it?" The man looked about two seconds from hurling all over the floor.

"Well then get out of my office idiot."

The man broke into a full blown run and nearly tripped at the door, a chuckle rumbled through Jack's chest, at least that was funny.

He had the key? Jack dug his hands into his pockets and quickly found what he was looking for.

A soft click came from the lock as he turned the key and he lifted the lid. Inside were things from his original office, Nisha's hat, an old Hyperion pistol, a small memory drive, and at the bottom, a simple picture frame.

All the air left his lungs suddenly and he felt as though someone was squeezing his heart.

Angel.

Jack carefully lifted the frame from the box, and ran his fingers over it.

He needed to kill something.

He carefully placed the photo face down on the desk and then headed towards the doors. Storming through his eyes landed on secretary boy who was staring at him, obviously shocked at his sudden arrival.

Jack had his hands around the man's throat before he could even think it through. The terrified expression was extremely gratifying. The man flailed struggling fruitlessly, a sick crunching noise cracked through the room and the body went limp.

Jack let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as his rage abated for the moment. Standing straight again he headed back into the office. He'd have to figure out who to message to come clean up that mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Canadian was showing, I almost left an 'eh' in there. 
> 
> Please shoot a comment my way if you're enjoying this, or think it's shit, or just to say hi - you know, whatever floats your boat. 
> 
> I like funny pickup lines if you know any good ones. ;)
> 
> More to come soon!


	4. Act One // Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Homeostasis (By, Nostalghia)

_"You must not forget that a monster is only a variation,_  
_and that to a monster the norm is monstrous."_  
\- John Steinbeck

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Three**

* * *

 

**Entry Three**

_In Loaderbot's little memoir he published (which I frankly think was a little harsh on yours truly), he said that Fiona and I found nothing._

_He also claimed that in the end we all learned that the true reward was friendship._

_If that sounds like a crappy greeting card to you, or like maybe it's totally made up that would be because it is._

_Telling people it was nothing, that is all Fiona. A lie she decided we all had to tell._

_Fiona and I had decided to open the strange Eridian chest we found together, and then we were somewhere else._ _I guess according to Vaughn and Sasha when they got into the vault we were gone. They tried to figure out where we'd gone, they had tried everything including lifting the lid of the chest, but it would budge and nothing happened, nothing changed._ _We reappeared (or so they tell us), less than an hour later in a blinding light, and both of us were unconscious._

_From my perspective it felt much longer. Maybe it was longer? I think that time could have just been different where I was, but I have no way to prove that._

_I found myself floating in a vast nothingness. It stayed that way for just long enough that I began to wonder if something had gone wrong. Long enough to wonder if maybe Fiona and I should have been more cautious._

_Then there was a bright light and a hideously sharp pain spiked through my skull. It hurt. A lot._

_I could feel someone or something in my mind. Pulling, searching. For what I wasn't sure, I just knew it was looking for something._

_The first week I re-lived every death I'd caused directly or indirectly; it seemed as though whatever it was...the vault I guess? It was rifling through my mind. Prodding every memory I usually avoided._

_The suicides we caused at Hyperion, my tribe being blasted to pieces, the bandits I'd used Loaderbot on, when I let Jack have control of the Gortys facilities, Jack firing the moonshot at Prosperity Junction, when I left Yvette behind, and all the people who had died on Helios._

_It would occasionally examine other memories, but it always went back to the deaths. Cycling them over and over again. Eventually it became meaningless to me._

_The second week was when it abruptly started pouring information into my brain._

_At first it just seemed random. Colours, numbers, screaming, sunlight, rocks, blood, but the longer I watched, the more I understood._

_It was showing me a weapon._

_A laser that can target life forms by the millions without disturbing anything around them. Not the buildings, not other people. Perfect precision._ _It showed me images of Pandora and Promethea, cleansed. No more psychos. No more asshole Bandits. No more people like Vallory, or like my tribe. Real safety._

_The weapon had been broken into two pieces and buried far beneath the ground. There was one half on Pandora, the other on Epitah._

_Slowly the images faded and the sound of screaming reached me, I had been so lost in the mental invasion that it took me what felt like hours to realize, it was my scream._

_When I looked down I realized why I was screaming. There was a piece of Eridium being pressed by some unseen force into my chest._

_So that I can use the weapon. I understood immediately, if I didn't have this I couldn't do what needed to be done. And then I blacked out._

_When I woke up it was in a makeshift medical bay with one of the Children of Helios fussing over me._

_"Sir, Mr. Vaughn was very strict, he said not to let you out of this bed until you see the doctor," she sounded worried, "you were severely dehydrated when they brought you in."_

_I stood up from the cot and raised one eyebrow while pulling the IV from my arm, "I'm fine, and I need to make some calls. Privately." My chest actually hurt like hell, it felt as though a chunk of ice had taken up residence just above my heart._

_"But Sir-"_

_I was frowning now, "aren't I like your hero or something for blowing up Helios?"_

_She blushed, "well of course-"_

_"Well then shouldn't you listen to me before Vaughn?"_

_Her eyes widened, "oh well...I suppose that's true."_

_"Great," I smiled in what I hoped came off as a pleasant manner._

_She smiled in return and then left the room._

_I pulled the collar of my shirt to the side enough to see where the sensation was coming from. A faint purple glow lit up just under my skin pulsing softly. Had anyone seen it? How long had I been here?_

_I carefully pulled my shirt back into place before activating my connection to the echo net._

_I found out from my PA that it hadn't even been a day since my last call. Which as you can imagine didn't sit well with my brain. But I pushed on, the priorities for Atlas had changed, and I needed them to start working on it now._

_I had almost finished relaying my new plans when the door burst open and Fiona stormed in closely followed by Vaughn and Athena._

_"We need to talk now Rhys," Fiona seemed to be somewhere between fear and rage._

_"Give me a few, I'll call you back," I said hushing Fiona with my hand, "you can get started while you're waiting."_

_Fiona scowled at me as the echo net connection closed._

_"I take it something bad has happened?"_

_Athena took a step closer examining me as though I was a bomb of some sort, and she wasn't sure if she should cut the wires or run._

_"What did you see in the vault Rhys?" Vaughn asked finally._

_I hesitated. What were they after? Fiona must have seen something too. Was it different?_

_"A solution," I finally said having decided to keep it vague for the moment, "a way to fix everything."_

_Fiona was on me in a moment grabbing me by the collar of my jacket, "you only got half the message, so whatever it is you saw, it can never be found. I saw the devestation that thing will cause. The pain. I could feel it. Whatever it is you saw Rhys, I got the warning label and you have to let it go now."_

_After a moment I realized she was dead serious and that Vaughn and Athena were likely already in agreement. I smiled casually like it was no big deal, "alright, if you're that worried I'll take your word for it. I have a lot of other crap on my plate anyways with Atlas."_

_Fiona's eyes narrowed and I realized I had agreed too quickly, "don't try and lie to me, you're not the type to turn down power, and you don't seem to care about consequences."_

_I frowned and pulled my lapels out of her hands, "fine."_

_"So you are going after it!" Fiona's tone was accusing._

_"Of course I'm going after it," I snapped, "you also only saw half the message too Fiona, you don't understand the good this could do."_

_"How can a weapon possibly do good?!"_

_"Says the future vault hunter."_

_Her eyes narrowed, "that has nothing to do with this, this isn't even about you being an absolute dirt-bag; this is about what we saw in that vault, no one should have that device."_

_I scoffed, "you can act all high and mighty about this, but at the end of the day you'll be buying guns and ammo from me or someone like me and then shooting bandits with it. All I'm trying to do is speed the process up, cut out the middle man."_

_"You really think you can have that sort of power and not abuse it?" Fiona laughed harshly._

_"I've always wanted to do the right thing, fix everything, change the universe."_

_"Oh yeah, as long as it changes your way, just like every other megalomaniac dick in history."_

_"Megalomaniac?!"_

_"Yes you ass, what was the first thing you did when you reached Helios? You fucking betrayed us; all to take an idiotic chance at being President of Hyperion."_

_"Betray you? I didn't betray you. I tried to get an advantage for us. So that we could keep Gortys instead of letting Vallory get her again. Which hey, maybe would have turned out better!"_

_"How are we supposed to tell? You never tell us anything unless you have to. None of us even knew about Jack until you unleashed him on the damn space station!"_

_"Seriously? You want to talk about lies you sanctimonious bit-"_

_"ENOUGH," I was cut off mid insult by Vaughn, "you two cutting each other to shreds won't help anything. I think we need to have a group meeting, where we can discuss this like adults, and decide as a group what the best course of action is."_

_I raised an eyebrow, I understood what he was doing, I really did - he was trying to keep us all together, but I could already tell from Fiona's expression that no group conversation would convince her she was wrong. "Fine, but it needs to be today. I have to get back to Atlas."_

_Fiona scowled but stepped away, before giving Vaughn a sharp look, "you know that no matter what we decide, he will do whatever he wants to, right?"_

_Vaughn opened his mouth as if to argue before closing it again. He turned to stare at me and his eyes got this faded look. He wasn't going to defend me._

_That hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, of course Fiona was right, I was only agreeing to this meeting to humour them; and I already as we spoke had employees trying to buy the location I'd seen on Epitah. But it still hurt._

_He was my best friend, he was supposed to be on my side._

_"You had better be at the meeting Rhys, this isn't over," Fiona gave me a final glare and stalked out of the room._

_After a moment of glancing between Fiona's retreating back and me Athena let out a long sigh. "I'm really starting to hate vaults," she muttered following after Fiona._

_Vaughn however sat down in the rooms only chair and pressed one hand to his face, he looked exhausted._

_"Couldn't have ya know, backed me up there bro?" I asked trying to not let the hurt into my voice._

_Vaughn slowly slid his hand down his face and then looked up at me in disbelief, "are you really asking me that after everything?"_

_My back stiffened and I crossed my arms, "what is that supposed to mean?"_

_His eyes widened and then he let out a bark of a laugh, "wow, yeah - of course you're seriously asking that. Fiona isn't wrong, you've always done whatever will get you ahead. You put your ambitions before everything else. I mean we all did, that was just how Hyperion was. But I think that's not just a corporate attitude with you Rhys, it's just part of who you are."_

_He was staring up at me, earnest, concerned. He wasn't mad at me, or disappointed, he was worried, and I found I didn't have the words to argue back. A dull pit swirled in my stomach and I turned away suddenly incapable of continuing to look at him._

_"I'm not...this isn't me being mean or something, it's just, sometimes you get tunnel vision with these things, like the Eridium mining deal, or leaving Yvette to die on Helios."_

_I turned back around a familiar anger boiling through my chest at her name, "how did you hear about Yvette? Did she survive?"_

_Vaughn just rolled his eyes, "Loaderbot told me the whole story while you were unconscious."_

_"Ah," I hesitated a moment, "she deserved it, she betrayed us."_

_"I betrayed you, you didn't kill me!"_

_"I didn't kill her either, I just didn't save her, and you didn't see her Vaughn, you didn't hear how she talked to me when she thought I was Vasquez, she entirely sold us out."_

_"She was trying to survive and she was all alone up...there..." Vaughn trailed off lamely as I turned back around to glare at him._

_"She was a backstabbing bitch and she got what was coming to her."_

_Vaughn expelled a short sigh and just shook his head, "you're always right aren't you."_

_"I am this time," I said firmly. I didn't want to talk to Vaughn anymore, he was pissing me off and I was obviously having the same effect on him. "Listen I have more calls to make, Atlas business, did you need anything else?"_

_Vaughn pursed his lips as if he might protest, but after a moment he slowly shook his head no._

_"Great," and with that I was connecting an echo call back to my PA again._

_I talked financial reports and marketing until Vaughn left the room. Once he was gone I had my PA update me on the Epitah situation, they had no news yet, and told him to send out a car to pick me up. I was leaving the moment the meeting was over._

_The meeting felt more like some sort of trial, Fiona on one side of the room, me on the other, everyone else in between. Everyone else consisted to Vaughn, Sasha, Athena, Janey, Loaderbot, Gortys, and Zer0._

_Fiona in graphic detail described what she had seen. People killed in an instant, whole planets falling silent. A huge Eridian device. People screaming, crying, dying. She explained that she wasn't sure of how the device worked, or where it was only that it had to be stopped._

_I wondered if she had also had a piece of pulsing Eridium jammed into her chest. If she had, she was leaving it out of her story._

_By the end I was dead certain that no matter what I said they were going to be siding with Fiona, and if they were against my goals, the less they knew, the better. So I modified the story, just a bit._

_"Rhys?" Vaughn looked over at me._

_"I saw a vault on Promethea, and inside there's a weapon, it's broken but I know how to fix it. It showed me how to find it, how to fix it, how to use it." I hesitated a moment, "it can target multiple people with perfect precision. No fallout. With a weapon like that, we could make sure everyone was truly safe for once."_

_"How many people can it target at once though Rhys?" Fiona glared at me over the table._

_I scowled as though I'd been caught. I felt guilty about lying to them, I really did, but some smug part of me was laughing at being able to distract them from the real lie. "Millions."_

_The table went silent and then finally Vaughn broke the silence, "do you have anything else to add?"_

_I finally let my frustration bubble over a little bit, I could tell they were going to be idiots about this, but would it have killed them to trust me for once? "We can use this to change the Universe for the better. If you throw that away, you're throwing away every life we could save."_

_"You could use it," Janey said in a matter of fact voice._

_"What?"_

_"You said 'we' like it would be a group effort. But you have the knowledge and Atlas. So it wouldn't be we. It would be you."_

_"And I don't think we'd be saving lives," Sasha reached out and grabbed onto my arm, "you're thinking about all the people who will live without any psychos around. But are all psychos bad? Do all bandits want to be bandits, or did they get forced into it? I know you're not from here so it's hard to see the people, the details. But you wouldn't be saving lives Rhys, you'd be killing people, by the millions, all because they might be bad people."_

_I raised an eyebrow, good psychos? I just didn't see it, but even if there was, even if some bandits had no choice, and some psychos were good - isn't that just a necessary sacrifice? But I could see they didn't agree, that they weren't willing to take that step.  
_

_A frustrated snarl escaped Fiona, "you don't understand Rhys! The damage this could do. I saw what could happen if anyone ever tracks this junk down and uses it. You could destroy everything!"_

_I scoffed. If anyone didn't understand, it was her._

_Vaughn looked around, "anyone else?"_

_Athena finally spoke up her eyes narrowed, "I won't allow another corporation to gain that sort of power. It's too dangerous, and you're starting to sound like Jack."_

_"Excuse me?" I admit before this all went down sounding like Jack had been my goal, but now... "I crashed a space station to stop him!"_

_"From what I've heard you only did that after you didn't get what you wanted out of the situation. That doesn't make you less like him Rhys. I'm not saying you are him. He was a psychopath. You're obviously not. But in certain ways it makes it worse that you are still capable of similar behavior."_

_"We're not here to discuss my choices," I bit out with my jaw clenched._

_Athena nodded slowly, "this is true."_

_"Alright," Vaughn looked around the room, "I think we've all heard enough. All opposed?"_

_They all raised their hands, just like I knew they would. A stab of betrayal washed over me unexpectedly. These people were supposed to be my friends, and yet..._

_"Fine," I stood up. "Is that everything?"_

_"No it's not," Fiona snarled, "because I don't trust you. So I'm going with you back to Atlas to keep an eye on what you're doing."_

_"Like hell you are!"_

_"I'm not giving you a choice Rhys," she stuck her jaw out._

_"You can follow me all the way back if you want," I spat out, "but I make no promises about the turrets seeing you as a ally."_

_"Rhys!" Vaughn gasped obviously shocked._

_I whirled on him, "what? Surprised I'm reacting badly to being told I have to let Fiona be my babysitter after she's spent all day insulting me?"_

_Vaughn hesitated, "not that I think turrets are the answer, but he isn't wrong about you spending all day insulting him Fiona."_

_"I'll go," Sasha cut in._

_"Sasha no," Fiona's eyes widened, "it's too dangerous."_

_Sasha laughed then, and in spite of the situation I couldn't help but be distracted by the sound of it. "You think Rhys is going to hurt me? You wouldn't hurt me right?"_

_I shook my head mutely._

_"See," she motioned with one hand towards me, "I'm going Fi, you're too emotional about this anyways. I know you think the vault screwed with Rhys' brain, but if it did then it screwed with yours too."_

_"My brain is fine," I protested, "my cybernetics would have detected any sudden differences and notified me."_

_Fiona's eyes were darting between us suspiciously before she let out an exasperated sigh, "just be careful."_

_Sasha grinned, "I'm always careful."_

_And that's how Sasha ended up coming with me to Atlas. Not that I really minded, she didn't understand any of the technical jargon and they all thought the device was in a vault on Promethea._

* * *

  
Jack scowled at the monitor, psychopath. Athena had been such a judgmental bitch. The only reason he wasn't glad she was dead was because he hadn't got to do it himself.

Psychopath. What a joke. He was the damned hero. But he'd show them all. Every last one of them, just before he strangled them. Because heroes didn't let bandits live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found this chapter to be super hard to write for some reason. Soooo hopefully it's good. 
> 
> Don't forget to let me know if something is wrong with the grammar or spelling. Or even if you have a suggestion about the way something is written. Creative criticism is always welcome.


	5. Act One // Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Icarus (By, Bastille)

 

  _“I never made a mistake in my life;_ _at least,  
_ _never one that I couldn't explain away afterwards.”_  
\- Rudyard Kipling

 

* * *

****Act One // Chapter Four** **

* * *

 

 

**Entry Four**

_When we got back to the Atlas base I got Sasha set up in one of the employee suites, and then I went to my office._  

_My PA did not have good news for me, it turned our that the land on Epitah was owned by Maliwan, and Maliwan had a facility smack dab on top of it._

_This was clearly going to take more work than I'd anticipated. Worse yet I discovered that the Pandoran location is underneath Hollow Point._

_I decided to focus on the Epitah location first. Trying to take over a rival corporation's facility would not be viewed as an oddity, and I hoped it would set off any alarm bells with my uninvited guest._

_Sasha kept herself close for the first month, carefully following her sister's instructions to keep an eye on me._

_When it became clear that she had no intention of leaving, I decided to start getting her to help out. I showed her the ideas my scientists had for terraforming Pandora, the new compounds they'd found that might make advancements in medicine, and a plant that actually put out an electric charge which they were fairly certain could be harnessed as a renewable energy source. As I suspected she was on board for it immediately. Sasha might seem like a blood-thirsty, hardhearted, con-woman at first glance, but she actually intensely cares about Pandora._

_I started getting her to go out with the scientists when they had leave the facility. It was pretty easy to convince her, I told her I couldn't trust just anyone with them. These men and women were the future of Pandora after all._

_This arrangement had two benefits, I had the freedom to work on things she would be less than thrilled with, and it seemed to make her trust me slightly more._

_Maliwan rejected every offer I made on their property on Epitah. It was what seemed like endless months of frustration._

_My only distraction was whenever Sasha came back from a mission, brimming with hope and excitement. It eventually got to a point where she knew more about those projects than I did._

_Some extremely awkward flirting on my part eventually led to dinners, flowers that didn't explode, new Atlas guns for her to test out, and walks around the Bio-Dome._

_That being said, I wasn't really sure if she was just being friendly or was sincerely interested; and since I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, I didn't push it any further. That was until one day when she got fed up with me and just kissed me out of the blue while I was reading a report._

_Truly she is the best thing about Pandora. I'm actually honestly starting to think she might be the only good thing. I only wish I could be a little more honest with her, but I think even though we're dating, she wouldn't understand._

_I have one building far at the back of the facility, 'Building RM,' I'd told her it was abandoned, but that's not true. Initially I'd been using it to run tests on the local animals. But eventually it became where I put any of the less socially acceptable experiments._

_Better to have them all under one roof, with explosives underneath in case something went wrong._

_It was around the year and a half mark when one of my RM scientists made a discovery, she accidentally developed a chemical that made people into insane cannibals. So zombies more or less._

_Now normally I would have scrapped the project immediately. I mean really it's far too uncontrolled. But in this case it was an opportunity._

_I sent yet another representative to the Maliwan facility, he was told to set the timer built into his briefcase, and then accidentally leave it behind when they rejected my latest offer._

_It worked, and after they tore themselves apart, it was incredibly easy to convince the public that Maliwan must have been doing something wildly dangerous in there. The facilities were shut down, and seized by Epitah administration._

_And then I got the absolute pleasure of buying it for a fraction of what I had originally been offering to Maliwan._ _Of course it was still full of zombies, and I had to promise the planets administration I'd take care of the problem._

_But still, I was that much closer to the first half of the weapon._

_I immediately discovered that the zombies were a lot harder to kill off than I'd anticipated. I had assumed I could send in some Atlas soldiers and they could mow the zombies down. But when I tried, n_ _early everyone in the patrol I sent down died horribly, screaming into the echo connection. Not a great way to spend an afternoon, for me or the soldiers._

_It turns out Maliwan had been using the facility to try and give people elemental abilities. My chemical plus their experiments had created...well it was a mess._

_My soldiers refused to go back in, and honestly I couldn't blame them. So I decided to look for some outside help. That's when I met Timothy Lawrence, the only doppelganger of Handsome Jack's still alive. Apparently Handsome Jack had convinced quite a few people to go around masquerading as him. Pun very much intended._

_The moment Jack died Tim had used every cent he had saved up to get far away from Helios, and what was most likely his own death at the hands of angry Pandorans._

_It's always a bit uncomfortable talking to Tim, he mostly looks like Handsome Jack, but he's grown a beard to try and hide his face; additionally his mannerisms are so completely different that it's almost awkward._

_It only took him a matter of hours to clear the facility and so I took a transport to meet him as soon as I got news._ _But, when I stepped off of my transport it was straight into Tim's fist. My ears rang as I hit the ground and it took me a full minute to realize my guards and Tim were in the middle of a truxican standoff._

_Angry now, I spat out the blood that had filled my mouth and climbed to my feet._

_"What the hell was that?" I demanded._

_Tim scowled, "that was for lying to me."_

_I raised an eyebrow, and that's when Tim kicked the briefcase towards me. My stomach clenched._ _I glanced over at my guards, had they known the soldiers I'd sent in and gotten killed? I didn't know. There was no way to know._ _"Get on the ship you two."_  

_The guards seemed confused, "but Sir-"_

_"That was an order."_  

_"Yes Sir."_  

_Once the door sealed behind them I put on my best charming salesman smile, "quite the right hook you've got there."_  

_Tim just made a disgusted noise, "you infected the facility."_  

_It wasn't a question, he knew, I let the smile drop, "with the zombies, yes. But the elemental crap was all Maliwan."_  

_"Elemental crap that would have stayed where it was if not for the zombies," Tim clenched his hand into a fist and shook his head, "I don't know what I expected from a Hyperion stooge."_  

_"Ex-Hyperion stooge, I'm all about Atlas these days," I threw in a teasing grin._  

_Tim's face was unyielding, he was clearly not amused with my antics, "once Hyperion, always Hyperion."_

_"What's that make you?"  I finally let my frustration slip out, here he was questioning me, and this man had been Handsome Jack's literal stooge._

_"I'm someone who should have known better."_

_"Look, it's not like I wanted to do it, but I needed this facility, and Maliwan wouldn't sell."_

_"You know I have video footage from in there. Your guy from Atlas, he didn't make it all the way in before security flagged the briefcase. He panicked and activated the dispersal unit right then and there, didn't even bother trying to set the timer. I'm guessing you didn't tell him what was in the case."_

_I sighed, "what do you want for the footage? Extra pay? A new gun?"_

_"I'm not trying to extort you," his mouth was drawn into a thin line, "I'm trying to tell you this was wrong, and you can't keep doing things like this. This...this Hyperion shit needs to stop."_

_"So..." I paused and glanced around confused, "you what? Want me to promise not to unleash anymore zombie creating chemicals? Because sure, we used everything we had here and I already destroyed the research."_

_"No, that's not..." Tim seemed at the end of his rope, "look Athena is an old acquaintance of mine, and when I took this job she warned me you might be dangerous. But I've seen your press releases Rhys, the stuff your company is doing with terraforming, medicine, and energy, it could all change the universe for the better. I guess...I just really wanted to believe that maybe something good could have come out of Hyperion. But you're just another corporate douche-bag aren't you?"_

_And for some reason. That stung. "That's not, I mean, I'm not..." I sighed and pressed one hand to my face while trying to collect my thoughts, "I don't usually do things like this, and I really do feel like a monster for doing it, believe me. But sometimes you have to do certain things, sometimes there's no choice."_

_"You think I didn't tell myself that every time Handsome Jack sent me to go shoot some innocent people Rhys? Of course I did. Everyone tells themselves they have to. But you don't. It's wrong. So here's what's going to happen; you're going to pay me what was promised, and I'm holding onto this footage. If I think you're going to do anything like this again, or if I find out you did anything like it, I will release it to the media."_

_I hesitated, "so it's not extortion you're after, it's blackmail."_

_"If you want to see it that way," the doppelganger straightened his shoulders, "I see it as trying to help you stay on the straight and narrow."_

_He seemed weirdly sincere and I wondered how this guy had ever pulled off pretending to be Handsome Jack. "Do you want a job?"_

_"What?" For the first time since I entered the room he seemed thrown off balance._

_"A job. You know. You do things for me. I pay you money."_

_"What job?" He seemed immediately suspicious._

_"That stuff we're doing that could change the Universe requires a lot of field work, and that requires security which is primarily run by my girlfriend. But there's starting to be too much." I paused to let out a light laugh, "she could use less of a work load, I'd like to see her more often. So I need someone who I can trust to keep bandits and psychos off my scientists. Plus then you could keep an eye on me really easily."_

_"Escort missions," he mumbled but he slowly nodded, "alright. I'll do it."_

_And that's how Timothy Lawrence came to be in my employ, something I haven't regretted yet. Even better, once Sasha got over the way he looked they became fast friends._

_I moved half of building RM to Epitah. They'd be doing two things there, mining down to find the first piece, and beginning to gather resources for us to build us a new space station. The weapon would need somewhere to aim from._

_It took another year before we'd successfully mined all the way down to the device. But it was well worth the effort._

_I'm not sure how to describe the weapon beyond alien, utterly alien. But now I have it, or at least half of it and it's being built into the new space station, a space station I should be able to launch within the next couple months._  

_I guess this journal is all the way caught up to present day now. I think Sasha was right, it's definitely helping me sort my thoughts out, helping me figure out the right path. I'm still not sure how to go about getting the half under Hollow Point. I'll have to send out survey teams to see if they think we can go at an angle. It'll take longer, but hopefully I can get to it without any of the residents of Hollow Point noticing._

 

* * *

Jack smirked down at the entry, Timmy had survived. Now that was almost worth celebrating; although it did sound as though the little brat had some dumb ideas and had grown a backbone to boot. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some effort though. 

Building RM sounded like something to investigate however. Jack pulled up a search menu and typed in ' _building RM'_ nothing, but a pop up suggested an alternative search  _'did you mean RM Projects?'_

Jack clicked on the link and his eyes widened. Rhysie had his fingers in a little bit of everything or so it seemed, the list of classified RM Projects was huge. Bio-weapons, chemical weapons, explosives that could level a town; his experiments on people varied from attempting to enhance them via mutations to turning them into his personal cybernetic army. He had a huge file simply labelled 'Maya' and that in itself was immediately intriguing. 

Clicking on the link he brought up footage of Maya herself, her hair had grown long and she was chained and collared to the ground of a large room. She looked utterly defeated and glee filled Jack. Wherever that holding cell was, he would definitely be visiting. 

Jack switched back to the journal entries. This story obviously had a lot more to it yet.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am doing my best to get at least one chapter out every few days, sorry if this one is kind of short.
> 
> Please toss a comment my way if you have the time! Comments make my day!


	6. Act One // Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Don't Make Me So Mad (By, The Vincent Black Shadow)

_“Anger is just anger. It isn't good. It isn't bad. It just is._  
 _What you do with it is what matters. It's like anything else._  
 _You can use it to build or to destroy._  
 _You just have to make the choice."_  
\- Jim Butcher

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Five**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Five**

_One of the biggest annoyances as a CEO of a company like Atlas is the assassination attempts. Maliwan in particular has been trying ever since I took their facility._

_This time however, really took the cake, and I am going to crush Maliwan into dust for it. I am going to ruin every single one of them, and then I'm going to buy their company. But instead of using it, I'm going to burn whatever remains._

_The day started like any other, Sasha and Tim were leaving with their teams on missions. Sasha kissed me goodbye, Tim made grossed out faces behind her like a child, and they were off._

_I had a frustrating morning where I was informed we can't dig sideways under Hollow Point without destabilizing the cavern it resides in, and then in the afternoon Vaughn showed up with Fiona and a trading expedition from the Children of Helios. They came by every so often, Vaughn was a fan of our fruit. Fiona wasn't usually with him, though she did come through whenever she was in the area to visit Sasha. She's barely said two words to me in years. Well, until today that is._

_The assassin snuck in with their party, and we were about halfway through discussing how much their salvage was worth when the man took a running jump at me with a spear._

_Thankfully it only landed a glancing blow off my arm doing nothing more than scratching the metal._

_He was pinned immediately by my guards and pressed to the ground. After gathering myself, I pulled my gun out of it's holster casually, Atlas' latest pistol with exploding rounds, this guy was going to be a mess. I turned to point it at the man, only to find my own father glaring defiantly up at me. My hand lowered slightly in shock._

_"Go ahead, finish your betrayal," he spat at my shoes, and a snarl twisted in my stomach. I raised the gun again intent on removing my final living relative._

_"What the hell does he mean betrayal Rhys?" Fiona stepped in the way._

_It's starting to feel like she is always in my way at the worst possible moments, "it doesn't mean anything, now move."_

_"It means he has betrayed his own people utterly and entirely," my father's voice ground on my nerves._

_"Shut up old man."_

_"Oh yes, I forgot Rhys, you're not just a traitor, you hide your birthplace as though you are ashamed," his voice was almost smug now._

_"You idiots killed my mother," I finally snapped._

_"She had to pay for both of your crimes boy."_

_Fiona's eyes had narrowed with suspicion, but for once Vaughn came to my rescue, although he was giving me an inquisitive look, "why don't we take this somewhere more private."_

_We hauled my father into the nearest interrogation cell, and then Fiona and Vaughn were basically dragging me into my office._

_I sat down at my desk and crossed my arms. This was going to be an uncomfortable conversation, I could already tell._

_"Who is that man? And what do you mean your mother? You told me you never met your parents." Vaughn seemed almost hurt._

_"My mother was..." I paused, "look can we just...not?"_

_"No, you can't just not. Especially when I already don't trust you." Fiona informed me crisply._

_"Fine. That man is my father, he helped kill my mother for helping me get to Eden-5. So if you could please just let me go, so I can get on with killing him, I will feel so much better."_

_"You're not from Eden-5?" Vaughn seemed shocked. "Then where are you from?"_

_Fiona rolled her eyes, "probably some palace some place, had to run for trying to usurp the throne or something I bet."_

_My eyes narrowed, "Promethea."_

_"As if," Fiona scoffed, "lying again Rhys? Really, there's no way..." she trailed off as she turned to look at Vaughn whose eyes had blown wide, "uh, Vaughn, right? It's ridiculous?"_

_"The Eridium deal," he finally breathed out the words at a volume just above a whisper._

_"The what?" Fiona was obviously confused now._

_"When we were at Hyperion. There was a deal Rhys set up. It was for some land on Promethea that we found out had Eridium buried beneath it. But there was a tribe on the land we bought, and Hyperion massacred them."_

_Fiona glanced between me and Vaughn for a moment and then frowned, "your tribe. You got...your own tribe killed. The whole thing."_

_I glared at her, "they deserved it."_

_"I always thought it was weird," Vaughn continued as though Fiona or I hadn't said anything. He was staring at the window rather than at either of us, "you were so cold, you knew what would happen and you didn't do anything, I'd never seen you like that before..."_

_"Wait...on Promethea," a flash of recognition moved across Fiona's features, "that footage leak even reached Pandora, Sasha...she wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks. After it happened she added a segment on her radio show specifically about what Hyperion was doing to Promethea."_

_I winced, it didn't particularly surprise me, I knew she'd had an anti-Hyperion radio station, and I'd even found recorded clips on the echonet. But I'd hoped news of the Eridium deal had never reached Pandora._

_"You killed your own family," Vaughn was staring at me with a dazed expression._

_That got me going, "no, I killed the people who murdered my only family."_

_"There were children there Rhys, you can't possibly think children deserved to die?"_

_"They would have turned out exactly the same, savages who kill, and steal, and ruin everything around them."_

_Fiona shook her head, "you've spent years justifying this to yourself, haven't you?" With a sigh she rubbed one hand across her face, "there is no point arguing Vaughn."_

_Vaughn for his part was now analyzing me with something akin to pity, "you're going to kill him no matter what we say."_

_"Yes," I answered curtly._

_Fiona sighed but didn't argue, and Vaughn just stared down at his shoes with a pinched frown._

_After a minute of neither of them saying anything I stood up, and headed for the holding cells._

_My progenitor was in the middle of an undignified and panicked attempt to escape the chair he'd been cuffed to. I chuckled as I entered, and he stopped struggling to glare at me._

_"So, you what, saw a press release? Realised I was your runaway kid and then decided to off me?"_

_He leaned back in his seat before he responded,"after Hyperion killed ' **my** ' tribe I tried to hunt down the bastard who had done it. It took time, but when I found out your name, I realized who you were," the man's voice was deep and it crackled when he spoke, "I couldn't get to you on Helios, but then you betrayed them too."_

_Every word he spoke was infuriating, but betrayed - that made something snap. The world was electric and everything tinted red, the next thing I knew I had my hands around his throat, and he was twitching uselessly as I crushed down on his wind pipe. Everything felt like it was closing in, black tinged the red at the corners and there was only one way to fix it. A sickening crack echoed through the room as my robotic hand crushed down, and my father fell limp. A perverse thrill trickled down my spine as I examined the corpse under my hand for a moment._

_I should have gone slower, savored it more. If only he hadn't made me so angry._

_I let go and walked out of the room snapping at a nearby employee to get cleaning down to the cells._

_An extremely worried looking Vaughn stumbled out of the observation room closely followed by Fiona who was eyeing me disapprovingly. I hadn't even realized they'd been watching._

_I took a calming breath of the facilities filtered air and then smiled, "we were discussing trading for fruit before we were interrupted I believe?"_

_"What the fuck was that Rhys?" Vaughn gaped at me, "you snapped his neck. With your hand. That was...it was..."_

_"I think ten crates should do," Fiona interrupted shooting an indecipherable look at Vaughn._

_I turned my attention entirely on the Vault Hunter, absolutely willing to ignore my spluttering best friend for the moment, "a little much for that amount of salvage," I paused considering, "but I'm in a good mood now, so sure. Ten crates it is."_

_Fiona nodded briskly, "I'll go get the Children of Helios moving on loading it up."_

_She rapidly outpaced Vaughn and I hurrying down the hallway. The man beside me however had fallen absolutely silent._

_We continued slowly without a word until finally, "why didn't you tell me?"_

_"I didn't tell anyone," I said evenly, "and honestly....when I was younger I just tried not to think about it, then at Helios it could have ruined me."_

_"You didn't trust me?"_

_I scoffed and Vaughn looked hurt, "you tried to sell me out to Vasquez, so I think not trusting you was the right choice don't you?"_

_Vaughn let out a huff, "you know, Sasha told Fiona she overheard you accepting the same damn deal Rhys. So you can stop rubbing that in any day now."_

_I frowned, "I didn't try and betray you, I conned a new Loader-Bot out of the idiot. That's completely different."_

_"I was just trying to keep him off our backs, so no. Not different."_

_I was starting to get annoyed, and the conversation was obviously going to erupt into full blown argument if it kept up. I decided to change subjects, "Sasha and Tim convinced me to let some locals rent space for a bar in the main hall," I forced a grin, "wanna check it out?"_

_Vaughn glared at me for a moment and then sighed, "sure."_

_Going to the bar was more of an affair then it used to be. I don't go out much, or at all really, it hadn't occurred to me that I would immediately be recognized as soon as I arrived._

_"Sir," a shocked bouncers eyes widened as we approached, "we didn't realize you'd be joining us tonight, we'll clear you a table at once."_

_The people crowded outside the door were whispering and craning their necks to get a look. Honestly it was a little annoying._

_Vaughn however simply rolled his eyes, "bet you love that, get to be the big shot with all the fans finally."_

_I didn't miss the slightly bitter tone, my annoyance from earlier came back full force. I laughed and threw him a cocky smirk, "I barely notice to be honest."_

_"Of course you don't," Vaughn grumbled._

_The bar staff had kicked everyone off the upper balcony to give us our own section, I hadn't thought to ask for it, but I certainly wasn't going to complain._

_They started us off with wine made from fruit grown in the holo dome and Vaughn polished off most of the bottle while I sipped at my glass, I wasn't particularly intetested in getting drunk._

_When Vaughn asked for a second bottle I realized my old friend had every intention of getting very drunk. He looked tired, I suppose I couldn't blame him, I'd be tired too if I spent all my time with a bunch of less than sane ex-Hyperion employees._

_However it wasn't long after he'd broken into the second bottle that he started to reminisce about our days back on Helios, and more specifically Yvette. It was expected of course, Vaughn is one of those drunks that likes to live in the past._

_Eventually he reached a point where he was curled into the corner of the booth, cradling the latest bottle of wine like it was a child. I decided that was a good time to wrap up the night._

_"You're a real selfish bastard sometimes," he slurred at me as I stood up._

_I raised an eyebrow, "weird thing to say to the man who just paid for your drinks."_

_"No...no...Yvette," he stared up at me obviously trying and failing to focus on me properly, "you didn't even think about how much it would hurt me."_

_I froze, I wasn't really sure what to say to that. I honestly hadn't thought about much of anything when I'd left her locked in that cell. In fact how Vaughn might react hadn't even crossed my mind until the next time I saw him._

_Vaughn hiccuped, "she was...she was our friend, my friend, my...a-and she fucked up Rhys. She did. I know. But she didn't deserve...didn't..."_

_He passed out as he spoke slumping backwards in the seat. Maybe alcohol had been a bad idea._

_Yvette._

_She was honestly the only person that died with Helios who I didn't ever feel bad about. The others had haunted my sleep for months, right up until the vault had made me see it all on repeat for a whole week._

_Looking down at Vaughn I struggled to find some semblance of warmth for the woman I'd left behind, because I should feel something like remorse shouldn't I? Nothing. I only found cold satisfaction at the memory of revenge._

_Maybe he was right. Maybe I am a selfish bastard._

_After I got Vaughn back to his rooms with the help of two Atlas soldiers I went back to my office. Or at least I was on my way there when pain shot through my chest like a lightning bolt._

_I staggered gripping the wall with one arm as I dropped to my knees. Luckily for me in spite of the late hour there was a single office worker in the hall who hurried over with panic in their eyes, "sir? Sir? What's wrong?"_

_"Doctor Dietrich. Now." Was all I managed to gasp out while trying desperately not to curl into a ball and appear weak in front of my employee._

_I barely noticed they were on an echo call until it clicked to a close. "She says she's on her way, she said-" the man stopped dead and stared at me wide eyed._

_"She said what?!" I growled between clenched teeth._

_"She uh...Sir?" He had a look on his face like he was about to break bad news, "you're uhm. You're glowing."_

_My eyes darted down and I realized the eridium chunk in my chest was pulsing. Brightly. It hadn't pulsed at all in years, hadn't lit up at all since the day after leaving the vault. "What's your name?"_

_The man stopped gaping and his eyes darted to my face, "uhm it's Gerald sir."_

_I wheezed and let myself slide down the wall, "alright Gerald. Want you to know. You didn't do anything wrong. Not your fault, sorry."_

_"For what?" His eyes widened in confusion and he edged closer._

_And then I shot him. It was too risky. He couldn't know. No one knew._

_Deitrich arrived a few minutes later, her nose scrunching as her eyes fell on the body and then widening with interest as they moved to me._

_"Sir, I'll have a team here in-"_

_I cut her off, "just you. N-no one else."_

_She frowned, "I will make sure no one else sees anything, but I don't end up like that." She pointed at the corpse._

_All I could manage was a curt nod, and then I blacked out._

_When I came to it was in a secure medical lab in what I recognized to be Building RM._

_Dietrich herself was leaned over me with a handheld scanner. My chest still hurt, but it was only a dull ache. More like when I'd first left the vault._

_"How long?" I asked, my voice had a rasping sound to it._

_"You've only been unconscious for two hours," the doctor glanced down at me and smiled, "it's amazing Sir, and whoever implanted it must have been a genius with stitches too, because there's no scarring."_

_"That would be the vault," I looked around for my gun and spotted it on the other side of the room, she was smart. Had to give her that._

_"Have you had anyone else look at this?" She questioned._

_I shook my head slowly._

_"Well it's an amazing device Sir, I have no idea what it does, but if my scans are right it's powered by Eridium of all things. I think it was activated because you were dosed with Eridium and it absorbed it."_

_A device. That made more sense than an actual chunk of Eridium. And then I looked at her sharply, "dosed with Eridium?"_

_"Oh yes. You were dosed with some sort of Eridium based poison. Security believe it happened while you were at that club. It was probably on your cup since your friend is fine. And not to worry Sir, the bar staff and patrons have all been tracked down and placed in lock up for you."_

_I looked down at my chest and the device pulsed faintly. "So it saved me."_

_"Quite accidentally I think, I am guessing that it just viewed the poison as a fuel source and sucked it straight in."_

_I sighed, I should have found someone to check the thing out long before this, but I had been worried about who to trust and so I'd been putting it off. "The pain was it the device or the poison?"_

_"Well the poison didn't help, but it also didn't help that Eridium was getting pulled through your body, normal human physiology isn't mean't to have Eridium running through it," She frowned, "but it's not like I took a class in implanted Eridian technologies, so I can't say for certain."_

_"You are going to do everything in your power to figure out how I can activate this thing without collapsing," I spoke out loud as I decided on it, "if you need a specialist to help you can hire one, but make sure you can trust them. If you or anyone you hire speaks a word of this, I will make sure you suffer for a long time before you die. Are we clear?"_

_Dietrich examined my face for a moment and then nodded sharply, "I have someone in mind. I think between the two of us we can work out a delivery system for the device. It may mean implanting more cybernetics in your chest though, and it also might be quite costly."_

_"Whatever it takes."_

_She brightened considerably at that, "I don't suppose you know what it's mean't to do Sir?"_

_"I do."_

_When I didn't elaborate her face fell, "but you're never going to tell me are you?"_

_"I promise if you can get it working, you'll find out soon enough."_

_"How ominous," she rolled her eyes, "you should be fine to go for now, any residual pain will pass. I'll let you know when I've got the guy I'm thinking of so you can meet him. Plus we'll need to run more tests."_

_I nodded and slid to my feet from the cot, she turned to watch me carefully as I returned my gun to it's holster and I could see her shoulder sag with relief as I turned towards the door._

_Interrogating the bar staff was surprisingly easy, the bartender broke immediately when he had visual confirmation that the attempt had failed. He ratted out a kitchen worker and two of the wait staff all while begging for his life. Two assassination attempts in one day. Maliwan obviously really wanted me dead._

_I did feel slightly better after executing the responsible parties. But not enough. I headed straight back to Building RM when I was done with the bar staff. I won't go into the details here, but I will say, I am really looking forward to what tomorrow has in store for Maliwan._

* * *

Jack grinned down at the screen, and leaned back in his seat. He'd known for a long time that Rhys was the sort of person who could kill angry. That had been obvious from the get go.

But killing cold, while in pain no less. Well, it almost made him proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo. Kinda shocked I got this done tonight. Just so you're all aware kiddos, when one has horribly bruised their shins, alcohol apparently does not really help to dull the pain. Should have just taken painkillers. Also shins are a crappy thing to bruise. I'm freaking 27 and this is the first time I've ever actually injured my shins (as in not just a scrape), so I was super shocked when I actually had to sit down for a few minutes to deal with the pain. Turns out it's because there's basically nothing between the skin and the bone. →★ The more you know! →★
> 
> Aaaanywho, more to come very soon. Please toss me a comment if you've got the time!


	7. Act One // Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: I Ran (By, Hidden Citizens)

_“Darkness grew where it would and took what it wanted._  
_It staked its claim and never let go._  
_And no one else could pry you free of it.”_  
\- Carrie Ryan

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Six**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Six**

_Part of the problem with my current situation is that I can't just send in the troops. Too many people would disapprove and I'd have Vault Hunters knocking in my door with shotguns tomorrow._

_So instead of overt. I have to be sneaky. People will still blame me of course, but without proof they won't be able to gather enough people to come shoot me._

_I have some positively brilliant minds in RM who were thrilled at the idea of field tests. So over the course of a few weeks all of Maliwan's Pandora bases slowly fell victim to 'unfortunate incidents'._

_I was particularly impressed with the cybernetically enhanced spiderants. The implants gave us near perfect control over their actions._

_I also sent agents with explosives and poison to the off planet locations, and it wasn't long before the remaining Maliwan executives were asking for a meeting._

_I told them to meet me at the first base I took from them on Epitah, the chance to dig in the proverbial knife was too good to pass up. That was where they'd rejected my offers and turned their noses up at me, and that was where I had every intention of ending things._

_Before we headed out Dietrich had me meet her and her new associate in Building RM._

_A somber looking man waited in the room with her. "Doctor Adler, Cybernetics," he informed me, "no need to introduce yourself of course Sir."_

_I raised an eyebrow and examined him for a moment, "the classified nature of this assignment has been explained to you?"_

_His eyes twitched down to my gun for a moment before he focused back on me, "yes Sir. Although I haven't been told why as of yet."_

_I glanced over at Dietrich who simply held out a file to me, "I assumed you'd like to check his records personally before we proceeded."_

_I flipped through the file slowly while keeping one eye on Adler. To his credit he didn't shift or even look uncomfortable, he just waited patiently._

_It was an extremely impressive file. A PhD in Computer Science and a Masters of Engineering, he'd graduated top of his classes and the enhanced spiderants had been his brain child. The thing that truly grabbed my attention though was his work at Hyperion. He had been part of the team that studied the Vaults._

_"This is very impressive," I said finally and Adler almost preened, turning to Dietrich I continued, "brief him on the situation."_

_"At once Sir," she too seemed pleased with my decision._

_"Did you require any additional tests?"_

_"Perhaps after we go over the data we have," she tapped her pen against her clipboard absently, "we'll let you know as soon as we have any ideas or if further testing is needed."_

_"Sir..." Adler spoke up his tone hesitant, "would it be too bold to ask a favour of you?"_

_I was feeling benevolent, "go ahead."_

_"I was wondering if it would be possible to allocate more funds to Cybernetics. I have some ideas related to the spiderants and how to apply that technology to people, but I need test subjects."_

_I smiled, in no small part because I'd been planning to allocate them more funds anyways ever since seeing the spiderants in action, "I can certainly see what I can do for you Doctor."_

_"Thank you Sir." I turned to leave before his voice caught my ear again, "and good luck with Maliwan Sir!_

_I smirked and glanced over my shoulder, "luck is for people without an R &D department."_

_As I headed back into the complex an alert buzzed on my echo net connection. Tim and Sasha were back early._

_I was frozen, heart hammering so hard in my chest I almost thought I'd been poisoned again. The only reason I could think of for them both to get back at the same time and early, was that they knew something._

_I headed to the for the garage where I knew they'd be unloading, straightening my collar as I moved._

_Sasha turned when I entered and bit her lip as though she was deciding something, Tim however looked furious._

_They definitely knew something._

_Tim nodded sharply at Sasha, gave me a guarded glare, and then stormed past me without a word._

_"What's wrong with Tim?" I asked casually._

_Sasha sighed, "Fiona called us."_

_"Oh?" I couldn't break, not yet, who knows what she'd said._

_"She told us about your father, the Eridium deal, and the poisoning, she told us about everything."_

_"Ah." I wasn't sure what to say. Did she hate me now? Was she leaving? She seemed incredibly calm all things considered._

_"I've seen the footage from Promethea Rhys, it was awful."_

_I clenched my teeth, "they killed my mother."_

_Sasha examined my face for a moment, "alright it's not like I can't understand revenge...but there were kids there."_

_"I was angry," I shrugged._

_Sasha pursed her lips and then changed directions, "why is Maliwan trying to assassinate you?"_

_"Because I'm outdoing them on the weapons market as of last quarter, and they don't like that." It was true. Partially._

_"Tim said," she looked sad almost, "he said there was no way you wouldn't retaliate."_

_I frowned, but didn't speak. Had Tim told her about the Epitah facility? Had he told Fiona? Would they guess what I was going after? I had a moment of absolute panic where I wondered if I should have just killed Tim._

_"I said that you wouldn't, that we shouldn't worry about it, but Tim ran into Zer0 a little after the call, and I guess he said that Maliwan was wiped off the planet in the last month."_

_"And you think-"_

_"Don't you dare lie to me!" She was all fury and moved sharply towards me as she spoke._

_I froze and then after a moment let out the breath I was holding, "alright."_

_"You did it," her face fell, "you did didn't you?"_

_"What was I supposed to do? They made two assassination attempts in one day!" I was scowling now, "I have to keep my company safe. It's not pretty but it's necessary."_

_"Why not just target their CEO?" She snarled, "you didn't have to kill everybody."_

_"If you don't kill everybody someone will show up and try to get revenge," I pointed to myself as evidence of that fact, however as I examined her furrowed brow something clicked in my brain, a simple way to end this beyond pointless argument, "and if they came back for revenge, it might not be me that they'd kill."_

_"What?" Sasha came to a full stop as confusion played across her features, "what does that mean?"_

_"Nothing," I turned away and waited eyes fixed on the other side of the room but angled just enough for her to see the worried expression I'd chosen._

_"You mean me?" Sasha sighed and her hand grabbed my arm, "Rhys, look at me."_

_I slowly looked back at her and ran one hand across my face, "I can't lose you." I never actually lied, I just let her assume what she wanted to. I mean, it is true, I won't lose her, and I'll do whatever I have to in order to make sure of that. That being said I highly doubt Maliwan has ever known anything about her. Their spies aren't that good._

_Sasha carefully wrapped her arms around me like I was made of glass, "after hearing about how you grew up - I know it can't be easy to let go, but you can't control everything. Besides, I can take care of myself pretty damn well."_

_"And if they poison you?" I rested my chin on her head._

_"Then I might die," she pulled back and looked at me dead on, "but I don't want you wiping out a bunch of people for me just because they might try and kill me someday. Okay?"_

_I made a frustrated noise but slumped as though accepting her demands. "I'll do my best."_

_Sasha tilted her head and pressed her lips to my cheek, "I'm still mad at you, but I'll go talk to Tim for you."_

_Another burst of panic surged through me, he obviously hadn't told her about the first facility yet, but there was no guarantee that would continue._

_"No, I'll go talk to him, he deserves to hear it from me."_

_Sasha smiled faintly and backed away, "alright, but fair warning, he might hit you."_

_I gave a little strained laugh and then turned on my heel to head towards Tim's rooms. He was getting too dangerous to keep around. But Sasha would never believe that he'd leave without saying goodbye to her, so anything involving shooting him was entirely out of the question._

_I knocked on the door to his rooms and after a moment Tim opened it to glower at me._

_"We need to talk I think," I glanced at my watch, I needed to leave for Epitah and soon. "May I come in?"_

_Tim stepped back from the door and I walked into his living room._

_The door closed and then I heard the telltale click of a gun being pointed at me. I raised my hands and slowly turned to find Tim pointing a pistol at my head. "Your solution is to shoot me?"_

_Tim's jaw clenched, "if I had shot Jack back in his early days, a lot of good people would still be alive."_

_I rolled my eyes, "I'm not Jack."_

_Tim snorted, "no you're not, he would have sent in the troops, burned them to the ground, consequences be damned, and he'd have been laughing like a maniac the entire time. I know what Jack would do. My problem with you Rhys is that you aim for the same results except you're sneaky. When you get caught you act like it some great tragedy and you 'had' to do whatever it is. I'm not even sure if you believe that, or if you're just laughing at us behind our backs!"_

_I activated my echo eye and focused on his gun, it was electronic, good. "Well then, go on. Shoot me."_

_"What?"_

_"You heard me. You think I have the same goals as Jack, you think I'm just as bad, then shoot me," I leaned forward until my forehead was against the cool metal of the barrel of the gun, I'd hacked into his gun and deactivated it already, but Tim didn't need to know that, "I killed thousands when I brought down Helios to stop Jack, so if you really think I'm going to end up the exact same way he did. Do it."_

_Tim's eyes widened and he slowly lowered his gun, "you're insane you know that?"_

_I chuckled, "I may have heard that before."_

_After a few minutes of Tim frowning down at his gun he looked up and stared me straight in the eyes, "I will kill you if I have to."_

_"Good."_

_I made it to the base before the Maliwan representatives, although only barely. I still had every intention of wiping Maliwan off the map, I just decided I'd have to do it slower._

_Or at least I did until I heard Maliwan's proposal._

_I had my team prepare a room for the meeting while I was travelling to Epitah, and I have to say they outdid themselves._

_The whole room was at a slight angle that ensured my seat was physically higher than all of the others. It wasn't immediately noticeable to the conscious brain, but the subconscious certainly would take note. The chairs in the room were all affixed to the floor, completely immovable, my seat of course was slightly larger, much more comfortable, and could turn on the spot._ _The room had also been outfitted with hidden turrets and a shield should the meeting turn out to be a ruse._

_The Maliwan representatives entered the room as though they were walking to the gallows, and to be fair, that was certainly my intention._

_I sat casually examining a display I had pulled up on my hand as they slowly lowered themselves into the provided seats. Two men and a woman. The larger of the two men immediately tried to shift his chair and appeared to be extremely uncomfortable when he found he couldn't._

_"Mr. Rhys-" the woman began to speak and was immediately interrupted by me shushing her._

_I scanned through the spreadsheets I'd pulled up for another minute before finally lowering the display and closing it. "Three thousand, two hundred and forty-seven."_

_"What does that mean?" The slimmer man looked frustrated, I had initially pegged the larger man as the hothead of the group but I'd been wrong apparently._

_I focused on the woman and entirely ignored the man who'd spoke, "that's the number of Maliwan employees that have met an unfortunate end in the last month. Still haven't lost as many as Hyperion I'll give you that."_

_An uncomfortable silence settled on the room, I had a truly difficult time keeping the grin off my face while the representatives exchanged worried glances. "We're aware of the casualties," the woman finally said carefully._

_"You wouldn't be here if you weren't, I'm reminding you because whatever this offer of yours is, it had better be good."_

_"It is," the larger man finally spoke in a low baritone that nearly disguised the tremor it held._

_"Before we start, we have a...gift," she hesitated a moment, "your guards wouldn't let us bring it any further than the hanger, but it's from the wreckage of Helios."_

_I leaned forward slightly before remembering to look disinterested, "when did you sneak in there?"_

_"Immediately after the uh...incident-"_

_"You mean after I sent Helios careening into Pandora?"_

_She looked almost nauseous, "yes Sir."_

_"Well, what is it?"_

_"We're not sure," she frowned, "we think it might be some sort of black-box for Helios, but we can't get it open. Since you're ex-Hyperion maybe you'll have more luck."_

_"Alright," I tilted my head, "now that you're done trying to butter me up, what's the proposal?"_

_"We back off. Entirely. No more assassination attempts, and we leave the Borderland markets, we go back to the Edens."_

_My eyes widened and I didn't even try to hide it, I really hadn't expected anything that good, "why?"_

_"Three thousand, two hundred and forty-seven people," the slim man responded with a glare, "we're not like you. We actually care about lives."_

_Irritation swam under the surface and I found myself sorely tempted to shoot the man, but I pushed the idea away. Who knows if they'd hold to the deal if I shot on of them, "let's see the paperwork."_

_The meeting took another two hours to go over the details and then I was heading back to Pandora with my gift._

_Adler met me in the hanger to immediately cart the large metal container off to Bulding RM._

_I went to tell Sasha and Tim the good news about Maliwan personally. Sasha seemed pleased with me while Tim still seemed wary._

_It was a few days later in the middle of the night that an echo alert went off waking me up abruptly._

_It was from Adler. **Cracked the box. We can open it when you're ready.**_

_I slipped from the bed carefully trying not to wake Sasha. It didn't work._

_"Where are you going?" she murmured blearily._

_I smiled softly down at her, "work unfortunately, I'll be back as soon as I can."_

_She blinked obviously confused in her half asleep state, "it can't wait until morning."_

_"CEO's work is never done," I grinned and then leaned down to kiss her quickly, "go back to sleep, I'll be here in the morning."_

_She snuggled back down into her pillow again with a small yawn, "don't do anything dumb."_

_When I got down to building RM I found Adler, he was fiddling around with a tablet he'd hooked up to the box, he looked like he was running on coffee, and little else. His hair was erratic and his normal calm was entirely thrown into disarray. He was clearly excited that I'd come straight down._

_He had me move back behind a protective shield and then activated his crack. The box opened with a hiss to reveal it's contents._

_There was a stasis unit, and inside, there was the unmistakable face of Handsome Jack. I had Dietrich join us immediately to examine the capsule and attached data._

_"They found him right after his death Sir," she informed me, "placed his body in this stasis pod in case they ever needed it. I'm not sure who even knew about it, this looks like some high pay grade stuff, I think maybe just some executives and maybe a couple of scientists. The pod is in amazing shape for something that fell out of orbit."_

_I was struck mute for a little while just staring wordlessly at the body. What do you do with the preserved body of the man who used to be your hero until his crazed AI tried to turn you into a meat puppet? I just don't know._

_I'll let you know when I figure it out._

* * *

Jack re-read the last part of the entry. The idiots at Helios had already had his body? That hadn't been in any of the files when his AI had controlled the place. Jack frowned down at it. Had they not intended to bring him back at all? Jack suddenly felt spitefully pleased about Helios' crash landing on Pandora.

How had he been brought back?

Jack turned back to the computer and began to pull up files on himself.

Nanite injections, chemicals, sub-dermal cybernetics, and medical compounds Jack had never heard of. Nothing so obvious as Rhys' own cybernetics, apparently just enough that he could function as he always had.

He leaned back and sighed. He was starving.

Standing Jack proceeded to the busted open door and almost slipped on a pool of blood. Brief anger flooded through him before he remembered he'd killed Rhys' secretary.

Stepping over the body he examined the dead man's computer quickly finding an option to call for cleaning and another to call for food. Easy. Who really needed a secretary anyways?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit this took me forever! My shows came back and I tried to make a Helios themed tower on my friends Minecraft server and then bam it had been three days without writing somehow. 
> 
> Also the nanite and sub-dermal implant thing I'm talking about is entirely inspired by Commander Shepard's revival in Mass Effect 2 in case anyone is wondering what I mean. If you haven't played Mass Effect 2 you can see the cut-scene [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK86-0o2sE4). - No worries about spoilers, this is literally like fifteen minutes into the game.


	8. Act One // Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Go (By, Meg Myers)

_“It was a strange monster, for beneath its exterior_  
_it was frightened and sickened by its own violence._  
_It chastised itself for its savagery._  
_And sometimes it had no heart for violence_  
_and rebelled against it utterly.”_  
\- Kristin Cashore

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Seven**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Seven**

_I'm absolutely terrible at writing a journal. It's been nearly a year since my last update. But well, when I need to think about things this journal has always helped before. So maybe it can help me with my current conundrum._

_I guess I'll start where I left off. Jack._

_Dietrich and Adler were of the opinion that while the stasis pod was good, it wouldn't hold forever, and then his body would start decaying._

_So I had them start working on a way to revive him. Nearly a year of genius work later and I watched as his heart began to beat again._

_Adler and Dietrich cautioned that it would still take a lot of time to truly heal. So it was decided, or that is, I decided, to keep him in stasis. It would prevent him from hurting himself, and honestly I'm not sure I want him up and around. I know, why bring him back if I'm not even waking him up? And I don't know really, I just know I couldn't not bring him back. I don't have it in me. I suppose I could say it's because he was my hero, or because he might be useful, or because I felt guilty. But I don't think any of that's it. The closest I can get to an answer is that if I didn't bring him back, the universe would be without Handsome Jack, and that feels wrong._

_Dietrich and Adler created a better stasis pod, they also integrated a method to implant memories from his AI. I'm not sure if I want to do that either. Though honestly I feel like Jack with or without the memories is equally likely to kill me._

_We also finally have a delivery system for the Eridian device implanted in my body, it was more complicated than we anticipated as it's slowly growing into my organs, fusing with them, becoming a part of me. We had to create a system that neither I nor the device would reject. Especially since the device is now as necessary to my continued existence as any of my organs. It's actually more necessary really since I don't have any potential synthetic replacements._

_I am supposed to get the surgery for the implant tomorrow, I guess that's part of why I'm writing this now after so long forgetting to do so. There should be a record in case I die._

_The space station is nearly complete. Sasha and Tim are nervous about it, the suggestion that it's just Helios all over again has been brought up more than once. Even though I've been talking a good game about doing better, I'm actually not sure it is any different. But I've done too much to turn back now. So I guess it doesn't matter what it becomes as long as I can fix things._

_I know people say the ends don't justify the means. But I think that's just the cowards path out of doing what's necessary._

_Hollow Point has seen no further progress. I've been trying to buy the town out, but everyone who would sell already has and the rest of them seem to have no interest. I'm not sure what's so much better about living in a cave then taking my money and buying a better place. But there must be something about it given the number of refusals._

_Athena however showed up in my office last week. Broke in would be more accurate._

_She showed up at the front gate and simply walked in. When my men tried to stop her she didn't hesitate to knock them out. By the time I got an alert that we had an intruder she was in my office, with her shield embedded in my desk a foot from my nose._

_"Athena," I hissed her name out slowly while trying not to show how much she'd scared the shit out of me, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"_

_She looked unimpressed and I felt like her eyes were boring a hole through my skull. "You will call off your people in Hollow Point. Now."_

_I raised one eyebrow, "my people in Hollow Point are just trying to buy property."_

_Her eyes narrowed, "buying up an entire town is not normal behavior. You want something and you must need us all out of there to get it."_

_I glared straight back at her, "yes, I want the land so I can knock it down and build it back up better, I'm giving a more than fair price I think." I tried to lean forward to impress my point on her, but the shield made an electric hum and I immediately thought better of it, "I'm just trying to improve things."_

_"You've owned some of those buildings for months, I've seen no renovations. More significantly your representatives are getting pushy."_

_"Pushy?" I raised an eyebrow, "it's a great deal, they have no reason to get pushy."_

_"One of them actually suggested that Atlas might simply poison everyone if they didn't take your deal soon, and he isn't the only one implying that sort of thing. Take my money and move, or you will die horribly is not a good deal."_

_I scowled at that, I hadn't told anyone to threaten people. Although the competition between the representatives had been ramping up for a while, "if they're threatening people, it's not on my say so."_

_Athena's eyes narrowed, "I know what you've been up to Rhys, and I know how dangerous you are."_

_"Dangerous?" I laughed, "I'm not dangerous Athena, you've seen me try to fight."_

_"How many people have you had killed since you became CEO?"_

_I rolled my eyes, "do they really count if they're trying to kill you?"_

_"Speaking as someone who has also killed a lot of people. Yes."_

_Trust Athena to take a joke literally, "okay, but I'm no danger to Hollow Point!"_

_Athena slammed a fist into the desk, "I know you're up to something, I know you started the fight with Maliwan, I know you dug something up on Epitah, and there is a high chance you want more out of Hollow Point than to just turn it into upscale housing. The dots are easy to connect. I don't know exactly what you have planned, but I know it can't be good. I've taken out Atlas before, I can do it again."_

_Without another word she grabbed her shield out of my desk, and turned to storm from the room._

_"Maybe I just take you out first," the words sprang from my lips before I had time to think. I've always had this problem where my mouth gets away from me, and I really had thought I'd mostly gotten it under control. But apparently not._

_Athena whirled, she had her gun out and pointed at me before I could blink, "say that again," she almost growled._

_My throat felt dry, and her eyes seemed to pin me in place as much as the gun did. Every clever word that might save me, every lie, every sly plan seemed to have vacated my mind. I couldn't come up with a single thing to say._

_After a moment of nothing she spoke again, "this is your only warning Rhys, and I don't do warnings. You only get this one because Sasha seems to love you for some reason. Don't mess up."_

_And then she was gone._

_It was a good ten minutes of me staring at the now empty door with one hand blindly running across the new dent in my desk before I was pulled back to reality by an incessant beeping coming from my echo comm. "_ _What?" My voice rasped as I answered the call._

_It was Dietrich, "are you...okay Sir?"_

_"I'm fine. I'll speak with you later," I clicked off the call without waiting for a response. I didn't want to talk to her._

_I could have died right there, and everything I'd done would be over. Gone. I had the terrifying realization that no one would complete what I was doing. That it all hinged on me._

_That's when I remembered there was one other person who was guaranteed to finished the project, who would absolutely find a way regardless. Who had shown time and time again that he would never back down._

_Jack._

_I spent the remainder of that afternoon recording messages for Jack. A different message for each potential eventuality. If I died, if I was taken alive, if my body was stolen how to track it. I was uncertain if the device would still work if I died, but there was no reason they couldn't try and implant it in someone else._

_I finally headed down to RM exhausted and frustrated. Athena's visit had made me angrier than I'd initially thought it had and angrier the more I thought about it. A part of me raged at the sheer disrespect, at the lack of civility. However in retrospect I think I was angrier because I couldn't stop her, than because of anything else._

_Dietrich and Adler were leaned over a screaming bandit when I arrived. There was a crunching noise as the man on the operating table died, a small spurt of blood shot up and coated Dietrich's goggles. She sighed, pulled them from her head, and turned to face me, "sorry about the dramatics Sir, what can we do for you."_

_"Two things, first of all I have new protocols I'm going to need you both to follow in the event of specific emergency situations, secondly - I need the security improved. Yesterday."_

_Adler finally turned from the corpse his irritated expression melting into interest at the idea of a new project, "I'll get on it right away Sir."_

_Dietrich wiped a spattering of blood from her forehead, "these new protocols are only for us I assume?"_

_"They're in case something happens to me. I need someone who will do what needs to be done. Regardless of what stands in their way."_

_"Handsome Jack, she murmured, it wasn't a question, she knew what I meant. "Sir I...I know he's important to you, but if you just told us what you needed done we could do it for you. Do you really want someone that unstable running things?"_

_I wasn't in the mood for this, and apparently it had been obvious on my face because Dietrich looked as though she immediately regretted her words. Before I could say anything though, Adler cut with his eyes shining, "Handsome Jack is a genius. There isn't anyone more qualified to complete Mr. Rhys' work in the event of an emergency!"_

_Dietrich rolled her eyes "says the treasurer of Nakayama's Handsome Jack Fan Club. Because you're obviously a non biased source of information."_

_Adler didn't even looked ashamed, the man puffed out his chest like she'd handed him a badge of honor, "of course I was!"_

_I know all too well from personal experience what being a fan of Handsome Jack means and exactly how far someone might be willing to go. But I had never been proud of my obsession. Not like this. Dietrich had frustrated me when she hadn't immediately trusted my order, but Adler - he definitely freaked me out._

_I focused on Dietrich and ignored the far too pleased fanboy standing beside her, "you will have the codes, you will wake him in any of the events detailed in the protocols. I know exactly what he's capable of, but some things are a necessity."_

_Dietrich nodded, "yes Sir."_

_"Now, if there isn't anything else, I need to be getting back to figuring out how to deal with Hollow Point."_

_"Actually, that's what I was calling you about earlier," the woman spoke calmly with her hands laced neatly behind her back, "Doctor_ _Adler had an idea."_

_Adler looked pleased to be the center of attention again, "we've made an advancement recently with the control cybernetics. We should have no problem controlling a number of psychos. So it would be simple really to strap them full of bombs and send them running into Hollow Point. Now if they happened to run into explosives we already had there...you know, for the purpose of demolishing houses we've purchased..."_

_My tongue flicked across my lips and I was immediately nervous. It took everything in me not to immediately say yes. It would take care of all of my problems, no more Hollow Point, no more Athena..._

_Nausea hit me. It would be the point of no return. I've killed people, sure. Lots of people even. Thousands. But this was the sort of thing none of my friends would ever forgive me for. Athena and Janey would likely die, and that would be the final straw if Sasha ever found out._

_"Get some psychos prepared," the queasy feeling amplified when I spoke. I tried to justify it, I mean Athena had threatened me. But I couldn't seem to get Sasha out of my head, Athena had helped mentor her, she would be devastated, furious. "But don't send them yet," I found myself adding, "I need to think on this."_

_"Yes Sir," Adler hurried out of the room grinning, the man is always weirdly excited about drilling holes in living people. I have mentioned he freaks me out right?_

_I told Sasha the reason I'm having the surgery and new implant was complications from the poison. She told me if I died she would find a way to bring me back so she could kill me herself. From Sasha that's concern._

_Provided I survive my surgery tonight, I will decide on what to do with Hollow Point while I'm in recovery._

_If I die..._

_Hey Jack, hope you're enjoying my journal, if you could avoid killing Sasha I'd appreciate that. I guess Hollow Point is about to blown sky high. I know it's what you would do. Probably without blinking._

_Maybe that's why I'm finding it so hard?_

* * *

Jack smirked at the computer as he munched on some chips. "Not everyone can be the hero," he said out loud to himself, poor little Rhysie trying to do it all himself, dumb kid really should have woken Jack up much sooner.

"That's true Sir."

Jack leaned forward startled at the response and wondering if maybe he'd imagined it, people usually couldn't sneak up on him. A blond man wearing a grey suit with an Atlas brand pocket square was standing at the door, the CEO's eyes narrowed, "who're you?"

"Armand Rothstein Sir, I'm Rhys' PA. It was suggested I come up to see how you're settling in, and additionally find out if you'd like me to get you a new secretary, or a PA."

"Doesn't this all make you my PA? I mean Rhysie did give me the company."

"He demoted himself to COO Sir. So unless you intend to fire him, I am perfectly happy to stay in my current position."

"Your name isn't even in this journal thing of his, he clearly doesn't appreciate you, how long you been his PA?"

"Since close to the beginning of the new Atlas, and my name isn't in there by request. I would prefer to stay anonymous."

"Worried he'll publish his memoirs? Because I think he'd get shot if he published this."

"No Sir," Rothstein tilted his head to the side as though considering something, "I'm more concerned he will be killed, and then someone else might publish it."

Jack snorted, "that's some pretty limited loyalty cupcake. Rhys can keep you. Find me a new secretary, and a PA, and make em good or I'll...space you? How easy is it to space people from this thing?"

"Easy enough for it to be a viable threat," the man however seemed entirely unshaken by the idea of rapid decompression, "I'll have a new secretary up shortly, the PA may take slightly longer."

Jack snorted but didn't bother responding, he decided he didn't mind Rothstein. He was much better anyways than that secretary guy, or the annoyingly terrified cleaning staff that had come for the body. In fact the lady who'd brought him his food had practically dropped it on the desk before full blown running from the room, what had Rhys been telling these people about him?

Jack turned back to the computer and idly wondered if Dietrich and Adler from the journal entries were still alive. They seemed entertaining, although if he was being honest, they also both sounded irritating as fuck at times. Maybe it was best if he didn't find out about them personally, they seemed useful, and he did try to avoid killing useful people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was halfway through editing and fleshing out this chapter, when the file closed. It was soooo much better than this. I'm so mad. It is never as good the second time. Plus this took me almost five days! Five! 
> 
> Promise next chapter is WAY more exciting.


	9. Act One // Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: What the Water Gave Me (By, Birdeatsbaby)
> 
> Buckle up kids. This is where it starts to get messy.

_“People speak sometimes about the "bestial" cruelty of man,_  
_but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts,_  
_no animal could ever be so cruel as a man,_  
_so artfully, so artistically cruel.”_  
\- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Eight**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Eight**

_I survived the surgery, although just barely, Dietrich would tell me later that it had been some of the most stressful hours of her life._

_I'd like to think she was worried about my well being, but honestly I think she's just afraid of Jack. Not an unreasonable response to be sure._

_When I woke up Sasha was sleeping in the chair next to my bed. I tried to reach one hand out to wake her and then stopped immediately as red hot pain shot across my chest._

_Right._

_I slowly lowered my head to examine the mass of bandages wrapping around my chest. They looked freshly changed, and it didn't seem like I'd torn anything open with my short lived movement._

_"Sasha?" My voice whispered out, my throat hurt and I was incredibly thirsty. I tried again, "Sasha."_

_It had been a little louder that time, she jerked awake, her eyes darting around before she realized where she was. Her face softened as she noticed I was awake._

_"Water?"_

_She held up a glass that had already been sitting next to me and had to slowly tilt_ _so I could take a sip. "How're you feeling?" She asked as I finished._

_"Hurts," I managed, my voice was slightly better, but not much. "How long was I out?"_

_"Five days," she responded lips pursed, "your Doctor lady said she had to keep you sedated that long because of how invasive the procedure was."_

_"Ah," I had considered dying might be possible, but I somehow hadn't really thought about how long recovery might take, "what were the sales numbers for the week?"_

_"Oh no you don't," Sasha was glaring at me, "you are not doing any work until you can move your arms without injuring yourself."_

_"I'm the CEO sweetheart," I winked at her, "I can't just take a vacation."_

_Sasha raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "no work, you are just going to heal, and don't think you can just wait for me to leave, Tim agreed to take turns with me."_

_"You recruited Tim to help you keep me from working?"_

_"And stop assassins," she said calmly, "you're pretty vulnerable right now in case you hadn't noticed."_

_I laughed, actually that's not accurate, I tried to laugh but it quickly became a pained groan, "alright, alright. For now."_

_Sasha smiled, "until I say otherwise, you have a perfectly capable PA and I hired you a secretary. Between the two of them they should have everything handled."_

_"Didn't I have a secretary?"_

_"She quit, something about not signing up for rampaging mad women with shields."_

_"Oh."_

_"Oh yeah, I heard Athena visited, and believe me we will be talking about that. But it can wait until you're healed up."_

_"Did you know she was coming?" I was immediately paranoid, had she known and not told me? That old familiar sting of betrayal swelled up._

_Sasha rolled her eyes, "no, I didn't even know until your secretary quit. But you're definitely explaining it when you feel better."_

_I relaxed. "Yeah. Alright."_

_As it turned out Sasha really meant it about not letting me work. I had thought I could convince Tim to look the other way, but no luck._

_The man had just laughed with a shake of his head, "sorry, Sasha will kill me if I let you do anything strenuous."_

_"You know you work for me right?"_

_Tim snorted, "well you can fire me, but Sasha will literally set me on fire, so no offense boss, but I just can't do it."_

_Finally after a week and a half she had to let my PA in, he had a stack of issues for me to deal with, although admittedly less than I'd anticipated. Maybe given how well they managed things when this is all over I'll actually be able to take a vacation with Sasha._

_It took me two more weeks of agonizingly slow healing before I could really be up and about again._

_You'd think with all the advancements we've made with medicine it would be faster by this point, if I'd just been injured it would have been. But cybernetics take time. They have to heal into place naturally. Using anything like the Anshin Health Kits will usually cause your body to reject the cybernetics. Which as you might have guessed, is really bad if those cybernetics are attached to anything important._

_In my weeks in the medical ward I had thought about Hollow Point a lot. I'd turned the issue over a million times. Tried my best to find another way._

_But in the end there was only one conclusion. It had to be done._ _Hollow Point had to go._ _I needed what was under it, Athena would be too much trouble, and besides, Hollow Point was chalk full of people like August, or worse people like Vallory. It would be better for everyone._ _I didn't want to do it this way of course. I had tried so hard to do this the right way for once. But some things just aren't meant to be, and some people have to make the tough choices._

_I pulled Adler up on my echo comm as soon as I finally was alone in my office, Sasha and Tim thankfully no longer hovering over me as though I was about to shatter._

_"Sir! So good to have you up and about again!" I found Adler's too thrilled tones jarring._

_"The project we discussed prior to the surgery. I want it done. Immediately."_

_The man giggled, actually giggled. And I don't mean that strained giggle when someone is about to do something insane. I mean school girl giggle; like I'd just told him some particularly juicy gossip about how Mindy tripped on her skipping rope. "At once Sir!"_

_"How soon?"_

_"Tomorrow around noon if the travel estimates are correct."_

_I hung up the call. Now all I had to do was make sure everyone was where I needed them to be._

_I already had Tim and Sasha shipping out in the morning to areas far enough out that reports wouldn't immediately get to them._

_I sent Athena a message requesting that we meet tomorrow afternoon to discuss Atlas' future in Hollow Point. I explained that I wanted both her's and Janey's insight before I did anything with the properties I'd bought._

_Her answer was a brisk response to meet them at Scooters old shop after lunch._

_It hurt that I had to make sure Janey was taken out too, after all she'd done nothing to me, but leaving a significant other behind felt like I'd be asking for another revenge driven assassination plot against my life._

_The next day I said goodbye to Sasha and Tim as they climbed onto the expedition trucks._

_"You're doing the right thing talking to Athena and Janey about Hollow Point," Sasha said with one hand interlaced with mine._

_My chest ached at the trusting look in her eyes._

_Tim clapped one hand across my shoulder as he went past, "say hi to Athena for me."_

_Startled I quickly jerked my head up and forced a smile, "will do."_

_"Just be straight forward, she's more likely to respect you if you cut out all that salesman crap," Sasha assured me._

_"Thanks babe," I leaned forward and pulled her into a kiss. If this went wrong, if she found out, it could very well be the last one. I maybe kissed her a little harder than necessary but she just laughed._

_"Save it for when I get back," she winked and climbed onto the truck._

_We headed out on the new Atlas air carriers, I brought a couple dozen soldiers with me from RM, as well as Doctor Adler who was keen to see his 'field test'._

_I watched the explosions from the safety of the carriers, it was truly a spectacular way to go. The cavern itself entirely collapsed in on itself. Adler and I only exited the carrier once my men determined the area was secure._

_I was immediately escorted to the survivor they'd found, she was bleeding heavily and one of my men had a gun pointed at her skull._

_"Siren," Adler breathed out from beside me, his voice was somewhere between awe and terror._

_The siren in question raised her head eyes narrowing, this was Maya. I'd never met her, but I knew who she was from the reports I had on local Vault Hunters._

_"You did this," she rasped, she'd clearly been badly injured in the blast, "Athena thought you'd try something."_

_I crouched down and tilted my head to the side, "so she called you for insurance I suppose?"_

_"You'll be stopped," she smiled, her teeth were stained red, "you've got more stacked against you than you know."_

_The paranoid feeling of being watched washed over me and I found myself glancing over my shoulder. I forced myself to look back at her as I stood up, one hand reaching for my gun, "if it's all this easy, I'm really not worried."_ _I wouldn't look afraid, not in front of my own soldiers. Though in all honesty she truly had shaken me. What the hell does more stacked against me than I could know mean? I pointed my gun at her and she stared right at me, utterly unafraid of her own death._

_"Sir?" Adler interrupted me._

_"Can this wait?"_

_"It's just," he edged closer, "if we kill her we're loosing a unique chance here."_

_I raised an eyebrow but didn't move, "what do you mean?"_

_"At Hyperion we had a number of projects devoted to studying Sirens, weakened as she is, it's chance to get one live so I can continue those studies."_

_"Study? Can you contain her long enough for study?"_

_"Oh yes Sir, we still have most of the data from Helios, it would be simple to put together a containment unit."_

_A flash of panic crossed Maya's eyes before they hardened again; I grinned, a feeling of glee rising up to wash away the paranoia she'd evoked. "Sedate her and get her on the transport. She's all yours Adler."_

_My men dragged the weakly struggling siren away, Adler following closely with a ravenous expression that almost made me feel bad for her._

_"What the hell Rhys?!" a familiar voice drew my attention, I turned to find Vaughn and three people from the Children of Helios being escorted towards me._

_"Vaughn," I smiled sadly and gestured towards the collapsed cavern, "I didn't know you were coming to Hollow Point, are you okay?"_

_He stared at me for a moment and then shook his head, "don't lie to me Rhys, we saw the Psychos, they had cybernetics all over them, just like those Spiderants that kept removing your competitors."_

_The Children of Helios he had with him looked terrified, eyes constantly on the move as though they might try and run. Vaughn just looked angry._

_"It had to be done," I finally said, "I know this doesn't make sense right now, but...you have to let me explain Vaughn."_

_His eyes were hard, and he seemed almost sad, "I'm sorry Rhys."_

_"Sorry?"_

_"Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't know when it happened, I don't know when you got this way. But I'm sorry. I should have noticed. I should have done something."_

_I laughed, "got what way? It's me Vaughn. Come on, I'm your best friend, if you just let me explain, you'll understand."_

_"Was this really what you wanted to become when we were kids? When you were making your own business cards?" Vaughn stepped towards me, "this can't be what you had in mind."_

_"I have to fix things," my chest ached again, the disappointment I could see in his face hurt, but it also made my blood boil, "just listen to me."_

_"No, there isn't anything you can possibly say to me Rhys. You have to stop and see what you're doing, you wanted to help people, does this really look like helping people to you?"_

_"I am helping people!" The anger I felt was becoming overwhelming. Why couldn't he just trust me? I'd trusted him again even after he'd betrayed me. All I'd done was blow up some people who didn't even matter to us, and really after everything we'd done on Helios he had no right to judge me. He just didn't understand what was at stake._

_Vaughn shook his head, and then his eyes widened as though something had clicked, "this is still about what you saw in the vault isn't it?"_

_"It's for the good of everyone."_

_"Oh my god, you never gave it up," he turned away from me and clenched his hands, "you lied to us about everything didn't you. You never intended for even a second to listen to us."_

_"You all don't understand," I spat, my anger coming to a head, "you would have all stood in my way. But you'll see, I can fix everything, no more pain, no more chaos, no more children torn away from their parents."_

_"You don't think any children just lost their parents because of that?!" Vaughn whirled and gestured to the remains of Hollow Point._

_"Sacrifices have to be made sometimes, there will be less loss in the long run."_

_"I'm not even sure why I'm surprised," Vaughn laughed like a man at the end of his rope, "was it because of Handsome Jack being in your head? Some remnant of him? Or maybe it's just because you still want to be him? I remember how you used to watch that Hyperion propaganda over and over again; especially that one where Jack was talking about bringing order to the Borderlands. I should have seen it then. Or no, you know what, I should have seen it when you threw that rock at Jenkins when we were kids. The way you laughed at him while he was bleeding and crying all over the place. That wasn't normal. I should have known then. I should have walked away right then."_

_I snapped._

_Vaughn has a lot of muscles, but it doesn't do much good to have muscles when your opponent is in a rage and has an arm made of metal._

_There was blood and a desperate scream when I heard something snap. A crunching noise filled the air as my fist slammed into his skull, the reverberations travelling up my arm almost hurt. Vaughn's head lolled to the side as my hands found his throat, even as injured as he was he still found it in himself to weakly pull at my arms, his eye that wasn't bruised shut bulging._

_A small scream of Vaughn's name pulled my attention and I found myself letting go. One of the Children of Helios was trying to get past my soldiers to stop me._

_Vaughn coughed blood as I pulled my gun out of it's holster to point at the girl who'd screamed. Red dripped from my hands as I flicked off the safety._

_"Don't," he wheezed from beneath me, "please don't."_

_A cruel feeling of pleasure swelled up inside me, "don't what Vaughn? Don't shoot her? Is she important to you?"_

_"Rhys, they didn't," he coughed up more blood and I could feel a sneer pulling across my face._

_I shot the man standing next to the girl, "don't what Vaughn, you'll have to speak up, I can't hear you."_

_"You're not supposed to..." His eye kept sinking closed before panic would jolt it back open again, a hand blindly reached up for my gun, whatever I was not supposed to do he didn't seem capable of finishing the thought._

_I let loose another shot dropping a second Child of Helios, "it's not like I can let them live, not with what you've said in front of them, this is really your fault if you think about it."_

_I pulled myself to my feet and stared down at the bloody mess I'd made of the man who was supposed to be my best friend. I could feel guilt, but it was faint, far away in the distance, and fading fast._

_"You're a disgusting monster," the girl spat from between my guards, "and monsters get what's coming to them."_

_I raised an eyebrow, "wow. I was just going to shoot you, but then you had to stick your nose where it wasn't needed, twice." I paused as though considering and gave the still gurgling Vaughn a smirk, "I guess Doctor Adler always needs more test subjects."_

_The girl glared at me, "what are you going to do with Vaughn?"_

_"That's really not your business is it? Take her onto Adler's carrier, tell him to use her for whatever he wants, but she can't be alive at the end," I smiled and waved goodbye as they hauled her off before turning to the remaining soldier, "get Vaughn into medical. Tell them to keep him sedated."_

_"Yes Sir."_

* * *

Jack let out a breathe he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His tongue ran across his lips and a smile tugged at his face. Just imagining Rhysie beating Muscles to a pulp like that had him at half mast. He really hadn't expected anything about the other man to ever have this effect on him. Rhys was pretty enough sure, but the man from his memories had been soft, annoying.

This however. This better version of Rhys was certainly starting to touch on more than one of his favourite kinks. Maybe he'd bend the kid over the desk when he got him back up here; get him to tell him more about it, how it felt to have his ex best friend's blood splattered across his fists.

Jack quickly checked on the progress the Atlas soldiers had made on an extraction plan.

Apparently this trial of theirs was going to start tomorrow and people were arriving from across Pandora to participate as witnesses or simply to observe.

The security Captain had suggested they attack during the trial so that the audience could be used as hostages.

A message from Rothstein, popped up on the computer as he finished speaking to the Captain.  _I thought you'd like to know that Lilith and members of the Crimson Lance have been sighted entering the Children of Helios base. I'll send your new secretary up with some options we have for sedating sirens if you'd like.'_

A grin spread across Jack's face and his laugh cut through the air, it was all coming together. That bitch was going to finally pay for everything she'd ever done to him, and he was going to make it last. He might even let Rhys watch and learn how a real hero did things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say dark. Only four more chapters in Act One guys!
> 
> Shoot me a comment if you've got the time. 
> 
> Also this was written and edited through the end of a migraine, so hopefully I didn't miss too many errors.


	10. Act One // Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Any Last Words? (By, New Years Day)

_“Most of the bad guys in the real world don't know that they are bad guys._  
_You don't get a flashing warning sign that you're about to damn yourself._  
_It sneaks up on you when you aren't looking.”_  
\- Jim Butcher

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Nine**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Nine**

_Vaughn's blood had dried across my hands and face by the time the carrier settled back down at the Atlas base. I'd meant to call Sasha and Tim immediately after the explosion. Unfortunately my appearance necessitated waiting until after I could get to a shower._

_I had my soldiers clear me a path between the carrier and my office, I couldn't have rumours getting back to Sasha and Tim._

_I'd expected to feel guilty once my temper settled, but it never happened. I found myself thinking about it over and over again. It wasn't that I could rationalize it away; beating Vaughn bloody like that had been stepping over a line, and I knew it. I just couldn't bring myself to feel bad about it no matter how hard I tried. I felt numb._

_Unfortunately I had entirely forgotten about the secretary Sasha had hired for me. The plain looking man had been sitting at his desk talking animatedly to my PA when I reached my office still coated in blood._

_My PA stood and scanned over me for a moment, "I'll leave the reports on your desk while you clean up Sir." Calm and_ _professional, as always._

_My new secretary on the other hand was staring at me with his eyes wide and jaw hanging slightly open. I frowned at him and his mouth slammed closed with a clack._

_"Listen..." I couldn't remember his name, "Brent?"_

_"Actually it's B-"_

_I cut him off, "I don't actually care right now. I'm tired, I'm covered in someone else's blood, and I just want to go clean off in my shitty office shower. But I can't do that until I make sure you understand something very important."_

_He twitched slightly and his voice cracked, "Sir?"_

_"If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will find out, and I will kill whoever you told, and then I'll kill you, very slowly. Understood?"_

_"Yes Sir!" His voice had come out in a squeak that time._

_"Great."_

_After a shower and quick change I pulled up my echo contacts before pausing. Who first?_

_I ended up choosing Sasha. I was fairly confident she'd be angry if I didn't call her first._

_I carefully pulled my clothing slightly askew and ran a hand through my hair to muss it up before connecting the call. I needed to look stressed._

_"I know you miss me, but I did just see you this morning," Sasha's laugh cut short as she focused on my face, "what's wrong?"_

_"It's uhm," I ran one hand across my forehead, "I don't know where to start."_

_"Did you and Athena get in a fight?"_

_"I didn't even get to see Athena - there were Psychos everywhere, and Hollow Point is...it's gone. I think, I mean...we think some of the Psychos had bombs strapped to them." I took a deep breath, "when they went off near all the demolition supplies we had there...well it... it exploded...collapsed."_

_Sasha gasped and one hand flew to cover her mouth, "Athena and Janey?"_

_I shook my head slowly, "I'm sending in rescue teams to try and move the rubble, but it doesn't look good. This is all my fault."_

_Sasha shook her head resolutely, "don't you dare try and take the blame for what a bunch of psychos did."_

_I smiled faintly and then sighed, "that's not all. I found Vaughn a little ways out, he was with some Children of Helios, they looked like they'd been mauled, Psychos I guess? Vaughn was the only survivor and he's not waking up. I don't know what to do."_

_"I'll be right there okay, I'll come right back, I'll contact Tim and Fiona for you too okay. Just stay with Vaughn."_

_"Okay...I love you Sash. Please be careful."_

_"I love you too, don't do anything stupid though okay? I'll be right there."_

_The call ended and I sat up from my slumped position. I would have to go deal with Vaughn before they got back._

_"Very convincing Sir," my PA startled me as he stepped in from the door, the man is eerily quiet when he moves; if I'm concentrating on something I often don't notice until he's next to me, "would you like me to arrange for a trail from outside Hollow Point to a Psycho encampment?"_

_I hadn't even considered that. Fiona at the very least would inevitably want to go track down the Psycho's responsible, and there would probably be others. "Yes, thank you."_

_"Doctor Dietrich wanted to see you down in RM regarding our new patient and how you would like his injuries handled."_

_I sighed and leaned back in my seat, "let her know I'll be down shortly."_

_I smoothed the collar on my jacket down and quickly fixed my hair before stepping out of the office. My secretary made a high pitched noise in the back of his throat when I went by his desk, "you uhm...you have a meeting with your department heads in an hour Sir."_

_"Send the details to my echo," I continued past him, I really wasn't going to get a moment to myself today._

_When I reached RM Deitrich was watching Vaughn through an observation window while chewing on her lip, she glanced up as I entered, "your men really did a number on him, he lost a lot of blood, there are contusions on his neck, and several broken bones; most notably his skull broke, and his left knee has basically shattered. Miraculously he's suffered no brain damage, but I don't think he'll ever be the same physically again."_

_I didn't react, just walked forward to look through the window, did I correct her? The soldiers would inevitably talk to other people in RM about the incident. "I got a little out of control," I responded casually clasping my hands behind my back as I spoke._

_An indecipherable noise escaped Dietrich's mouth, but she didn't say anything about my comment, "what do you want done with him Sir?"_

_I turned to look at her and she stiffened as soon as my eyes landed on her, "I want him kept unconscious, a medically induced coma, or just on so many drugs he's incomprehensible, I don't care which."_

_In the room Vaughn shifted and made a small whining noise, Dietrich's head darted up at the sound, "what's the cover story Sir?"_

_"Psychos," I pushed through the door as I spoke and into the room Vaughn laid in so I could stand directly over him. He looked terrible, in the time I'd been away from him bruises had bloomed across his injuries painting him in shades of blue, purple, and red._

_Dietrich entered with me and started filling a syringe, "may I ask Sir...what's the point of keeping him alive?"_

_"I might need him," I responded briefly, it wasn't true. I honestly have no idea why I'm keeping him alive, some remnant of friendship? Revenge? Both? Vaughn's eyes blearily opened and he immediately began to panic as I smiled down at him, "don't try to talk, don't struggle, we'll be keeping you on a steady diet of shut your mouth juice. Keep you right out of it. That way when Fiona and Sasha get here I can send them to take care of the Psychos who attacked you while you were out on the road. You should really be more careful Vaughn."_

_"Rhys," he hissed my name between his teeth while his hands strained against the restraints._

_Dietrich injected whatever she'd been filling the needle with into his IV bag and he finally stopped struggling pupils blown wide as the drugs flooded his system. As he began to fade out hurt flooded his eyes and he managed one final word, "why?"_

_I snarled and dug one hand into his bruises; Vaughn's eyes flared back open at the pain and I glared down at him, "you betrayed me, don't ever forget that. I gave you the chance to listen and you threw it away."_

_A hand closed on my wrist and I drew back startled to find Dietrich gently pulling me away, "prehaps it's better if you avoid the patient Sir."_

_I yanked my arm away from her like I'd been burned, "I'll do whatever I want to do in my own company," I took a step closer to her, my hand drifting to my gun almost unconsciously, "and you're certainly not going to stop me."_

_"I'm doing my job as a Doctor, if you want him dead just kill him already, but if you want me to look after his health, let me do my job," she stood with her hands clenched, she was shaking, obviously afraid, but also clearly having decided to draw a line._

_I froze, when did I become the sort of person whose own employees were afraid of them? That wasn't who I wanted to be, I knew I'd have to do things I didn't want to do, but I hadn't meant to make people on my own team afraid. "I'm sorry Doctor," I sighed and she deflated a little bit looking relieved, "I'm stressed, but I shouldn't take it out on you."_

_She chewed her lip again, "maybe you should take a break Sir?"_

_I laughed, "not yet, I can't afford a break right now. But I appreciate the advice."_

_She smiled slightly, it was timid, but I still considered it a victory. "Should we move him into the main medical ward?"_

_I nodded briskly, "give him his own private room, and I want you to be in charge of his care, if anyone asks questions you can tell them I wanted my personal doctor taking care of my best friend."_

_"Yes Sir."_

_I was on my way out of RM when I was intercepted by Adler, he came scrambling down the hall with an excited expression, "Sir, can I have a moment?!"_

_I turned raising an eyebrow, "what did you need?"_

_"That girl, the uh, one you said to make sure didn't survive, she has completely different reactions from the bandits and Psychos we've been studying Sir!"_

_"Well she's from Helios I assume."_

_"Right you are Sir, I have some theories about the effects of Pandora itself, but uhm, I'll need some more samples."_

_"More people who aren't Pandoran."_

_"Exactly," he grinned, "now Atlas employees obviously won't do since a number of the procedures I need to do will prove fatal, but if I could steal a couple Children of Helios here and there, just when they're out in the wilderness...when no one would realize where they went."_

_The Children of Helios were technically our allies, but given I'd just beaten their leader bloody, and all that remained there were people who had already turned down an opportunity to work for me... "Go ahead, but keep it under the radar Adler, there can't even be rumours. Understood?"_

_"Yes Sir!"_

_The meeting with the department heads was primarily financial reports, all good news thankfully, or at least until I got to the head of the mining department._

_"Sir, we can't go mining into the remains of Hollow Point, and quite frankly this new woman you've assigned as project lead is brushing away too many of my concerns. I can't even find her in the Atlas database."_

_The woman I'd assigned to project lead was from RM, but of course the man didn't know that, "whatever she is telling you to do. You will do as if I personally told you to do it."_

_The man shook his head sternly, "Sir, I don't think you understand, if we mine into the remains of Hollow Point it will kill any survivors, it'll make rescue efforts completely pointless. Additionally mining down into that area after such a massive explosion is going to destabilize the entire region. We'd be putting anyone who lives nearby at risk. I overlooked that we are mining yet again for some mystery object that I apparently am not authorized to know about. But I won't put all those people at risk."_

_"You won't?"_

_"Won't Sir. If you insist on continuing in these dangerous and frankly ethically bankrupt actions I will have no choice but to report you."_

_"Report me?" I laughed and the other department heads looked on edge, "this is Pandora, who would you report me to?"_

_"The Buisness Ethics Administration on Eden 5, that is where Atlas is legally based even if we only have a small office there."_

_My anger must have been showing on my face because the other department heads were actually starting to look at the door as though trying to decide if they could escape. "We hired you on Epitah didn't we? For the first mining project like this?"_

_"Yes you did," the man frowned and crossed his arms, "but frankly Sir I think you're avoiding the topic now."_

_I clenched my jaw, "see, I don't think it is, I want you to take a look around the room at your peers here, you see that scrunched up look of fear they're all getting?"_

_"Sir I don't think-"_

_"Do. You. See. It." I interrupted._

_"Yes Sir," he was starting to look uncertain._

_"See they're all from Helios, they're Hyperion originally. So they all know that when the CEO says to do something, you do what? Anyone? Hands up if you want to explain how things work to our friend here?"_

_The head of programming hesitantly raised her hand and I motioned for her to go ahead, her voice was steadier than I thought it would be, "if the CEO tells you to do something. You get it done. Immediately. Or you get fired."_

_"Exactly, exactly that," I knew I was lashing out extremely publicly but I just couldn't make myself care, "so what do you think is going to happen to you?"_

_The mining department head rolled his eyes, "I can still report you if you fire me."_

_"You really can't," I responded voice flat as I pulled out my gun and pointed it square at his skull._

_The man's eyes widened and he seemed frozen to the spot, utterly terrified. The other department heads quickly looked anywhere but at the man, they'd all been upper management at Hyperion, they wouldn't do anything to stop me. But hadn't I decided to not intimidate my employees less than an hour ago? Vaughn's angry words about me wanting to be like Jack danced mockingly in my head._

_I hesitated, just as frozen as the man at the end of my gun; the programming head glanced at me as though she wasn't sure I had it in me, she was seeing weakness. I couldn't back down now, this guy would ruin everything. I'd already pulled a gun on him and the sharks I'd hired smelled blood in the water._

_I pulled the trigger. The mining departments head hit the floor with a wet thud as brain matter splattered the wall behind him._

_I ran my eyes over the room, "someone get this cleaned up," I motioned at the body, I glanced at my PA who stood next to me still calmly taking notes, "find me a new mining department head."_

_"Yes Sir."_

_Sasha and Tim got back a few hours later, they found me in my office with the lights out, I was halfway through my second glass of spiced rum and was staring out my window at the plants in the Biodome._

_"I thought I said not to do anything stupid," Sasha said from the door._

_I turned my chair and sighed, Sasha looked frustrated, and Tim just looked angry, "I take it someone told you about the meeting."_

_"You think?" Tim shook his head, "everyone is talking about how you've snapped Rhys, went off the deep end, people are terrified."_

_"I didn't mean to..." I leaned forward and ran one hand through my hair, "he was just so aggravating."_

_"You accidentally shot a man in the head?" Tim scoffed, "is that really what you're going with? Oops I tripped and blew a man's head off?"_

_I winced, "no, I just...he was complaining about destabilizing the region by digging for survivors in Hollow Point, said he wouldn't do it." The exact nature of why I shot the man wouldn't be public knowledge, my department heads wouldn't say a thing about it if they valued their positions and lives. Any rumours would be coming from people who heard the gunshot, or the janitors who'd removed the body._

_Tim's face softened slightly and Sasha immediately was at my side, "listen, I know you're upset Rhys," Sasha sighed, "but you can't do this. We understand, we really do. Me and Fiona are going out after the psychos tomorrow, and Tim will stay here to hold down the fort and help you out. Just don't shoot anymore employees okay? Even if they're assholes."_

_I nodded leaning into her as she wrapped her arms around me._

_"How's Vaughn?" Tim asked apparently deciding to let the whole shooting a department head thing go._

_"Not good," I rested my head on Sasha's shoulder, "I have my doctor taking care of him, but she says he might never wake up."_

_Sasha rubbed one hand up and down my shoulder slowly, "we'll get through this, you'll see."_

_Tim sat down in the seat opposite my desk with a long sigh, "got anymore of that shit you're drinking."_

_I let out a short lived laugh and pulled away from Sasha, "yeah, I've had a nice personal stockpile that's been tested for poison ever since that thing with the wine glass."_

_"Good plan," Tim mumbled as Sasha poured two more glasses of rum and slid one to Tim._

_The night passed pleasantly enough after that, any awkward or painful topics carefully avoided; the night was instead devoted to stories of old misadventures, and jokes at each others expense. When the morning light reached the office we all decided that was a good indicator to head off to sleep._

* * *

Jack's secretary was a small blond woman who had somehow managed to personally haul an entire arsenal of weapons up to the office with her.

She had a selection of pistols for him to choose from, a few personal shields, and a variety of weapons meant specifically for taking down a siren.

Jack had to say he was impressed, the guns were good, surprisingly good, maybe less surprising he supposed when he considered that Rhys had apparently hired any of the crashed Helios employees who'd wanted another corporate job. He used the overly artsy vases Rhys had decorating the office as targets while testing the guns, completely ignoring his secretary's suggestion they take this to a shooting range.

After he'd picked out a pistol, a shield, and a couple tricks to surprise Lillith, his secretary pulled out a small box, "R&D said that you would also want this."

He plucked the box out of her hand before shooing her out of the office with a demand of coffee. Clicking open the container got Jack grinning immediately. A brand new pocket watch glinted up at him from the box.

He found himself really and truly looking forward to the upcoming trial. The idiot bandits wouldn't know what hit them, at least not until it was much too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo got this one done slightly early. Next chapter should be up Friday morning at the latest, possibly late Thursday.
> 
> I feel like I crammed a ton of stuff into this chapter, hopefully it all makes sense, if something is weird please let me know so I can fix it.
> 
> Also I made a moodboard for my Rhys which is here if you're interested which you can see [here](http://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/158065274963/moodboard-my-version-of-rhys-in-bitter-end).
> 
> If you've got the time please shoot me a comment, I love hearing what you guys think!


	11. Act One // Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Blue Eyes Blind (By, ZZ Ward)
> 
> [Chapter Moodboard](http://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/158147918693/moodboard-act-one-chapter-ten-of-bitter-end)

_“Some monsters disguise themselves so well you don’t realize that they’re monsters until it’s too late._  
_You check all of the usual places: under the bed, in the closet, behind the shower curtain, around that suspicious, dark corner of your room._  
_No, some monsters don’t look like monsters at all._  
_But they are, have been, and always will be there.”_  
\- Nikki Rae

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Ten**

* * *

 

 

**Entry Ten**

_The launch of the new Atlas space station from Epitah was something I decided to celebrate. It felt like I deserved it. Mining was going well in the remains of Hollow Point, the space station was a success, my enemies were dead or incapable of fighting back. It felt like the right time for a party._

_The event had become a veritable who's who of the known galaxies, or so my PA told me. I knew the representatives from my competitors of course, but most of the celebrities were entirely beyond me. I hadn't had the time to keep up on who was the latest stars since my Hyperion days._

_Tim had chosen not to attend citing that his face would cause too much panic and confusion. In all honesty though I think he just doesn't like parties._

_Sasha to my surprise loved every minute of it. She'd helped my PA pick out decorations, colour schemes, and had spent considerably more time than I'd expected choosing our outfits. Which is how I found myself straightening a dark blue suit jacket and frowning down at the orange tie she'd picked out._

_Sasha coughed from the door to the bedroom and I turned to take in the dress she'd selected. The orange dress hugged her curves smoothly before the fabric flowed softly to the floor. She looked beautiful as always, but I have to admit it was the open back on the dress had my mouth running dry._

_The moment had a fragility to it, and an unfamiliar nervous look crossed her face._

_"You look amazing," I managed after I got my mouth working again._

_A smile broke her face and she stepped closer, "something wrong with your tie?"_

_I hesitated for a moment before coming clean, "I don't know how to tie it."_

_"What?" She looked stunned, "but you wore ties for years at Hyperion didn't you?"_

_I coughed slightly embarrassed, "clip on ties."_

_She burst out laughing, "this explains so much about your wardrobe."_

_I frowned and fiddled with the fabric for a moment, "I can go get my PA."_

_"Mmm, now there's a man who knows fashion," she laughed, "but no need." She took the tie from me and in a few deft movements was tightening it under my collar. She reached down onto the bed and plucked up the matching pocket square folding it carefully before sliding it into my breast pocket._

_"She can shoot guns and tie a tie, man am I in trouble now," I murmured._

_Sasha smiled softly at that and pressed a small kiss to my lips, "shall we?"_

_"Before we go down, I was wondering if you'd move up here with me?" I'd meant to wait until after the party, but it felt like the right moment._

_A small frown crossed her face, "my works on Pandora, my family is on Pandora."_

_"And the space station will usually be over Pandora, you can go down in a personal shuttle whenever you want."_

_"Let me think about it?"_

_That meant talk to Fiona, but I nodded slowly, "anything for you."_

_We entered into the main hall of the space station, the entire place had been covered in softly glittering lights and orange flowers that had been grown through the terraforming project on Pandora._

_My PA handed me a small clip on microphone and Sasha pecked me on the cheek before I took my place at the front of the room._

_"I want to thank you all for coming here, it's been four years of hard work but I think I can say proudly that Atlas is bigger and better than ever before," I grinned lazily and got more than one glare from my competition, the latest projections had us leading in almost every market we'd touched. Between having Atlas' and Hyperion's data already, what I'd taken from Maliwan had pushed us up over the edge, and they all knew it. "I won't keep you long, I know you're all excited for the launch, but before we continue I'd like to take this moment to acknowledge those we've lost on our way here with a moment of silence."_

_Sasha lowered her head a little sadly and I took the opportunity of her distraction to stare straight at the single Maliwan representative. The man's jaw clenched tightly as he realized I was taking a shot at his company. The representatives from Jakobs seemed amused at least. One of them whispering something to the other with an amused smirk._

_After a reasonable stretch of silence passed I spoke again, "now, the moment you've all been waiting for, if you'd like to turn your eyes to the nearest window you'll see we're leaving Epitah behind us as we speak."_

_Small gasps came from the audience as they turned to look, and I was thrilled to find anyone who hadn't been looking out a window hadn't noticed. The latest in stabilizing technology made it very difficult to tell when the station was moving. The only time there was even the slightest movement was as we broke atmosphere._

_The night moved onto soft music and small talk for most people, the waiters slowly entering the event with champagne in blue glass flutes and the hors d'oeuvres I'd watch Sasha and my PA discuss for weeks._

_I was immediately pulled into talking with the representatives from Tediore. It was mostly tedious poorly hidden subterfuge, poking and prodding in an attempt to find weak spots._

_Sasha spent the first half an hour moving from one end of the hall to the other, nervous and constantly checking to ensure everything was okay until I caught her elbow. Pulling away from the Tediore representatives I smiled at her, "you should relax and enjoy your hard work sweetheart, you seem too stressed for someone who's at a party."_

_Sasha pursed her lips, "you said you wanted it to be a night people will talk about for a long time. I'm just making sure it is."_

_I chuckled and pulled her into my arms, "you have already gone above and beyond, let my PA worry about this, it's his job, you should be enjoying your time off from getting shot at by crazy people."_

_"I've just never been at something like this, I don't want to mess up and say something too...Pandoran."_

_I scowled at that, "screw that, be Pandoran, you could eat these assholes for breakfast; if one of them gets out of line just remind them of that. You're too badass to be intimidated by these jerks."_

_She grinned and leaned forward kissing me softly, "sometimes you're a complete dumbass Rhys, but occasionally you get it right."_

_Sasha walked off head held high and people around her immediately moved out of her way._

_Fiona was there surprisingly having accepted my invite, although she was just grumpily standing in a corner wearing a slightly cleaner version of her usual getup. Loaderbot and Gortys were hovering nearby her, both robots had gotten dressed up for the event. Loaderbot had a blue bow-tie with ducks on it and Gortys had a string of red lights shaped like flowers wrapped around one arm. They seemed to be enjoying themselves in spite of Fiona's hard to miss glowering at anyone else remotely near them._

_About halfway through the night I was approached by the two Jakobs representatives, a man and a woman both tall, slim, and very blond._

_"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir, I'm Ida and this is Clovis, we were wondering if we could have some time alone with you?" The woman flashed me a brilliant smile and then winked, "we can certainly make it worth your while."_

_I raised an eyebrow, "you realize my girlfriend is just over there."_

_She shrugged, "what she doesn't know can't hurt her," she pressed one hand against my forearm._

_Clovis chimed in with smile that reminded me of toothpaste commercials, "or you could always invite her to join us."_

_I snorted as I tried to imagine any situation where Sasha would be okay with that, "as fascinating as that offer is," I said with my own fake smile, "I really don't like being manipulated." My smile dropped as I grabbed her wrist none too gently giving it a slight twist before letting it go._

_She rubbed her wrist but seemed unfazed, she made a small humming noise at the back of her throat, "into the rough stuff?"_

_"We're not against it of course darling, but most people let us pick out safety words first," Clovis added._

_"It's not that you aren't both exceedingly tempting, but even if I wasn't spoken for, I'm not interested in letting two people from a rival company that close to me," I paused, "so what do you actually want?"_

_Ida sighed, "you're really taking all the fun out of this you know?"_

_"Especially since we were actually looking forward to this assignment," Clovis seemed disappointed, "an attractive and powerful man at the peak of his game, it could have been a lot of fun."_

_"Or you might have shot me," I pointed out doing my best to ignore what those words did to me; I wasn't lying, they were tempting as all hell, when I was younger, dumber, and single I probably would have gone for it. "If you want a meeting you can make an appointment, just like everyone else."_

_Ida finally cut to the chase, "we have information about people who are looking for a certain Siren, and we have reason to believe you might be interested, and of course we'd like to explain what we can do to assist with the situation."_

_"And what does Jakobs want in return for this, act of kindness."_

_"Certain assurances in writing. We know you're gearing up for something big, we want to be on the right side of it. There's also a small contract on Demophon we wouldn't mind you backing out of, as a show of good faith."_

_"This had better be some amazing information," I muttered, but they had me intrigued, if for no other reason I wanted to know how they'd found out about Maya, "my office is this way, I'm sure you don't mind if I bring a few guards along?"_

_"The more the merrier," Clovis smirked._

_On our way out of the hall I pecked Sasha on the cheek, "I'll be right back, I have some business to take care of."_

_She turned and grinned smugly, "I knew you couldn't go without working for that long. Tim owes me money now, so thank you."_

_"Tim bet I wouldn't work?"_

_"No, Tim bet you'd wait until after dinner."_

_As it turns out Jakobs had more inside information on my company than I was at all comfortable with, it was clearly time to weed out any spies that had managed to get into RM. They knew I had Maya, but they also revealed they had a copy of the designs for the space station itself, the device of course wasn't on the designs, that was information I'd shared with no one, but the blank area it would be going in was there, and that was enough for Jakobs to assume I had some sort of weapon in mind._

_"Lillith is looking for Maya along with those Crimson Raiders she adopted from Roland, she also has a large psycho with her who we've been told they call Krieg."_

_I did my best not to let it show, but that was certainly more than just a little intimidating, "I assume they don't know where to find her yet seeing as I don't have any vault hunters knocking down my door."_

_"No, not yet, and we can point them in the wrong direction easily enough," Clovis was all smiles, "a dangerous direction against some deadly monster that will hopefully result in their end perhaps?"_

_"Or you could always point them in the right one," I mused, "is this a trade you're looking for, or blackmail?"_

_Ida smiled thinly "no Sir, not blackmail, we're quite aware of what happened to Maliwan and we don't want you for an enemy. We also have no interest in having a woman as unreliable as Lillith for an ally."_

_Clovis held up a file, "as a show of good faith that we only intend to be allies, we'll even give up our informant within your ranks so that you can do whatever you deem necessary with them."_

_"Ida finished off their sales pitch, "this isn't about getting something out of you, it's us recognizing when we're over-matched, and choosing to ensure our future by making a deal with the person who can crush us."_

_As far as deals went it did sound compelling, "I'll need to see the specifics of this contract on Demophon, exactly what assurances you want, and I'll want you to aim Lillith at what's left of Maliwan."_

_Clovis raised an eyebrow, "when they realize we've just used them to remove a competitor they won't come back to us for information, and we'll lose the chance to throw them into certain death."_

_I shook my head, "at best you'd kill off some of the Crimson Raiders, Maliwan will keep them occupied, they'll have to find a way off Pandora, and then they'll have to track them across multiple planets. A giant monster or whatever you had in mind will distract them for a week, maybe."_

_"Surely they're not that good," Ida scoffed._

_"I take it you've never seen a vault hunter in action," I shook my head, "take my word for it, a week is vastly overestimating the monsters chances."_

_"Whatever you want Sir," Clovis nodded before handing the folders he was holding over to one of my guards._

_The contract they wanted to win on Demophon was tiny, a small city needing a few dozen crates of handguns, certainly nothing truly important to me._

_The assurances they wanted were even less bothersome, nothing but signed contracts that meant I was legally declaring we were allies. They didn't even require me lift a finger to help them if I didn't want to. The rumours I'd heard about Vladof making moves against them must have been true. They clearly wanted it to be public that they'd sided with me in order to scare them off._

_The file that was of the most interest to me was their informant; it was one of the project managers from RM, he apparently had chosen to become an informant in the hopes that Jakobs would let him go work for them when he was done._ _I sent a quick message to my PA to have the man in question brought into custody, I'd have to deal with him later as I had the sneaking suspicion Sasha would be upset if I got blood on the suit she'd picked out._

_"Alright," I leaned forward on my desk, "I'll sign these assurances now, and once I'm confident you've held up your end with Lillith, I'll drop my bid on the contract in question."_

_Ida nodded, "that seems fair."_

_Clovis grinned at me suddenly, "you sure we couldn't interest you in some fun before we go, since we're such good friends now."_

_I rolled my eyes, "I'm flattered, really, but if you'd seen my girlfriend handle a gun, you wouldn't be so eager to land yourself on the business end of it."_

_"Well, if we're ever in the same area again, and it is an option, do look us up," Ida's voice was almost a purr._

_I sent my guards to see them out while I filed my copies of the files away, I needed to get back to the main hall if I was going to meet Sasha for the dinner._

_A loud bang from in the hall however had me immediately checking the security camera outside my office, it was Sasha and Fiona. They were clearly arguing with each other based on their stances._ _I hesitated for a moment before I flicked on the sound._

_"-moving up here will be the biggest mistake you can possibly make!"_

_"Why? Just because you don't like him?" Sasha looked furious, "he loves me Fiona, why is it a bad thing that he wants me to live somewhere that isn't all dust and and skags?"_

_"He doesn't love you Sasha," Fiona scoffed, "I don't think Rhys knows how to love anyone but himself, he's a complete and total psychopath."_

_"You don't know anything about him, you just wrote him off after the Vault," she shook her head, "you know I think maybe he's right, the Vault messed with your head."_

_"My head? I'm not the one that's been murdering people left and right," Fiona turned away to glare at the wall, "he's got you so wrapped up in his bullshit that you can't even see how screwed up he is!"_

_"All I see is a bitter angry woman who can't stand the fact that I'm finally happy, and don't need her anymore."_

_Fiona's turned back and she just looked sad, "why did you even ask me what I thought if you were just going to ignore me?"_

_"Because I thought for once my sister might be happy for me?"_

_"God...I wish I could be happy for you, but all you're making me is afraid for you."_

_"He would never hurt me," Sasha shook her head, "look, I've heard enough from you. Deal with it however you have to. But I'm moving up here with him."_

_"Someday you are going to learn to be less stupid about men, but by then it might be too damn late!" Fiona shouted._

_Sasha's eyes were like daggers, "someday you're going to be all alone and you'll wish you'd taken a shot on anyone at all!"_

_I clicked off the camera as Sasha moved to push on my office door buzzer. I let her in with the push of a button, I could see past her where she'd left Fiona standing in the hallway with her arms crossed._

_"Is that Fiona out there? You know she doesn't have to wait in the hall right?"_

_Sasha glanced over her shoulder as the door clicked closed, "she can stay out there and die for all I care."_

_I raised an eyebrow, "unless we've had some invasion I don't know about I doubt the hall is that dangerous."_

_Sasha let out a soft laugh, "are you almost done with business? I saw the Jakobs representatives leaving."_

_"Yeah, just had to file some papers away, I was just about to start heading back when you hit the buzzer."_

_"Good," she twisted her fingers and stared at me wordlessly for a moment, "the answer is yes."_

_I tilted my head as though it took me a moment to work out what she was saying, "to moving up here?"_

_She smiled coyly, "yeah."_

_"Well that's a relief, I wasn't looking forward to trying to sneak your stuff back into your rooms on Pandora."_

_"You moved my stuff?"_

_"Well. Not on my own," I paused, "I mean you have a lot of clothes Sash, pretty sure one of my men has permanent spine damage from carrying all your stuff."_

_She whacked my arm lightly, "as if you can talk, I've seen your closet Rhys, I'm not sure my clothes will fit."_

_The rest of the night went smoothly other than the death glares Fiona kept sending me all night. But overall I found she was easy enough to ignore._

_After all, I'd won._

* * *

Jack frowned down at the entry, he'd sort of been hoping for smut if he wasn't going to get violence. But oh no, he'd gotten a whole entry of sickeningly sweet details about Rhys' relationship with hat girl's sister. He gleaned some small amusement from the fact that he already knew how badly their relationship had crashed and burned.

The fact that the man somehow still didn't know how to tie a tie even though he was in his early thirties had admittedly made Jack snicker. He would definitely be tormenting Rhysie with that somehow. Mandatory ties for all employees? No clip on's allowed? He'd figure it out.

The video cameras did spark an idea in Jack though. He scanned through saved events in the RM holding cells. It turned out it was relatively easy to find the recording of Rhys dealing with the informant, the recording had been pulled up more than once and appeared to be part of the current training videos for new RM employees.

Jack leaned forward eager to get a good look at the screen, the image was in full colour and appeared to have been filmed from multiple angles.

The man in the holding cell began to panic as soon as Rhys entered.

"Look, Sir, I was only working with Jakobs to get information out of them, I don't know what they told you, but they're lying," the man's voice sounded strained.

Rhys seemed unimpressed, he visibly hovered his hand over his pistol for a moment before smiling and pulling out something smaller and slimmer, "do you know what this is?"

The man just stared with wide eyes, his words clearly failing him.

Rhys sighed and casually backhanded the man with his robotic arm, "let's try this again, do you know what this is?"

"N-n-no," blood trailed down the man's face from where Rhys had struck him.

"This is the stun baton I used on the core of Helios. I kept it even though something in the core backfired on it. It still carries a charge, but it's not nearly as powerful as it's supposed to be," he paused to examine it for a moment before bringing it crackling to life, "you know what I've wondered ever since then?"

"I uhm," the man was looking around the cell frantically now, "how to uhm, fix it?"

Rhys stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, "how to fix it. Pft. Wow, just wow. You don't think I can fix one stun baton?"

"I oh, no, I didn't mean..." the man stopped looking for escape and just stared sadly at the baton.

Rhys sighed, "no see, it used to be really easy to kill someone with this thing, it was powerful, hit someone too many times, or in the wrong spot, and they just weren't getting up ever again. So what I was wondering, is how long it's going to take me to kill you with it now that it's not as amped up."

The man shrieked and pressed himself against the back of the cell. "Nononono, I didn't mean to!"

"You didn't mean to betray me?" Rhys raised an eyebrow, "see I am pretty sure being an informant is something you have to choose. So how about this, you tell me who else has betrayed me, and I'll make this really quick. I know you can't be the only one."

"I don't know! I never met any other informants!"

Rhys tsked, "that's really too bad isn't it, because now I have to make an example of you so that everyone else in RM understands the repercussions of betraying me."

The man shrieked, and that's when the baton slammed into his lower right side. Rhys was swinging it with his metal arm and Jack could hear the ribs cracking on the video feed. The tall man proceeded to very carefully continue to hit what were essentially non lethal areas on the man. Then once the traitor was a quivering twitching mess slowly bleeding onto the floor Rhys crouched down.

"Now, I'm going to make this really easy, either you tell me who else was in on this little plan and it all ends, or I'm going to drop you in the spiderant pit."

"I don't know," the man coughed out, "pleaaaase."

Rhys scowled as he stood up, "you're an idiot, you know that?"

He turned and opened the door to let in two guards who lifted the bleeding man off the floor, "you actually want us to throw him in the spiderant pit Sir?"

"Yes please, and someone find me his records, the only reason he's not saying something at this point is that it must be someone he's close to. Someone he's trying to protect. This asshat did not have the clearance to get the space station plans, which means someone else helped him. Keep RM on lock down, no one leaves, if anyone tries to escape, shoot them."

"Yes Sir," one of the guards saluted enthusiastically and then they were dragging the informant away.

Jack grinned at the monitor as the footage ended, now that was what he'd wanted out of the journal entry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apparently lied, I'm posting yet another chapter early. 
> 
> Next one will either be Friday or Sunday. Just sort of depends on how crazy my sleep is. I slept more than twelve hours last night and the night before that I got none because I kept having dumb nightmares about some dude trying to break in through my window, (I live on the third floor of an apartment building and there is no way to climb to my window unless you're Spider Man so I have no idea what my brain is doing.) It's been a weird week. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it! Please leave me a comment if you have time. I really love hearing from you guys! Makes my day!


	12. Act One // Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Worse Things (By, Johnny Hollow)

_“The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed,_  
_but that he cannot believe anyone else.”_  
\- George Bernard Shaw

 

* * *

**Act One // Chapter Eleven**

* * *

 

**Entry Eleven**

_I heard it said once that there are no bad days, just bad attitudes. Whoever said that is a fucking idiot._

_Everything was going so well this morning. Three months being back in orbit above Pandora instead of stuck on that dustball. Sasha was up on the station more often than not. Overall I was feeling pretty confident that things would go as planned. That should have been my first indication that it wouldn't, after all, it never has before._

_Just before lunch I got an urgent echo call from our main base on Pandora._

_My monitor flashed red as I reached for my coffee, I flicked the accept button and_ _Dietrich's face became visible. I was immediately concerned, there was blood running down her face on one side and I could see a broken light behind her._

_"What happened?"_

_"He," her eyes were blown wide with panic, "he escaped Sir."_

_It was like the world dropped out from under me, or like I'd been punched in the gut._

_"Sir?"_

_I managed to get my eyes to focus, "lock down the base. Now."_

_"Yes Sir."_

_I turned off the echo call and immediately started trying to contact Sasha. I needed her to come back up to the station while I handled this. If I got to her first, I could explain this. It would all be fine. Or better yet, I could move the station. I could get her to come with me to the Edens, or maybe another galaxy, far away from Pandora. She never needed to know. I'd find a way, she just had to listen to me._

_No answer._

_I pulled my PA up on my echo instead, "get my shuttle ready, I want three squads from RM on their way down to the biodome, now."_

_He nodded sharply, "it will take time for that many soldiers to mobilize Sir."_

_"Ten minutes," I snarled, "they have exactly ten minutes to get on the shuttles."_

_My PA raised an eyebrow, "I'll do my best Sir."_

_The call clicked to a close and then I was trying to call Sasha again while storming down the hall towards the shuttle bays. Employees dodged out of my way eyes wide as I passed them in the hall._

_I spent the entire ten minutes that I was waiting in the shuttle trying to call Sasha. Still nothing._

_She always picked up, unless she was sleeping or fighting. Neither seemed likely. She had been going down to check up on progress at one of the terraforming sites, there wouldn't be combat. There was no reason for her to not pick up._

_The soldiers piled into the surrounding shuttles and we were taking off._

_"Sir, you might want to sit down," the pilot suggested, "it'll get bumpy when we hit the atmosphere."_

_I glared daggers at the woman, "if I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. Until then why don't you shut the-"_

_My echo call clicked as it was finally answered, and I stopped my snarled lecture to look at the hand held device. I knew what to say, I'd had ten minutes to pick my words, but as it turned out, they would never be spoken. My carefully chosen lie about needing Sasha back at the station for an emergency died on my lips._

_Vaughn._

_Vaughn was answering Sasha's echo. My tongue was like lead and my mouth tasted like ashes._

_He didn't look good, too thin, unstable. But his bloodshot eyes were focused, glaring straight into my soul._

_"Sasha doesn't want to talk to you," his voice was rough from lack of use._

_I tried to think of something, anything to say. But it all fell short. She knew. She knew about Vaughn, she probably knew about Hollow Point, and if anyone had contacted Tim they would soon connect the pieces of everything else._

_"Is she listening?" I finally managed._

_Vaughn's eyes flickered to the side before he uttered a completely unconvincing "no."_

_"You're a terrible liar."_

_Vaughn shook his head sadly, "I didn't need to be good, I had you."_

_I rolled my eyes, this was getting me no where, "just let me talk to her."_

_Vaughn's glanced off to the side again and I could hear the murmur of Sasha's voice though I couldn't make out the specifics. He finally looked back at me and shook his head, "if you hurt her more than you already have..."_

_"You'll what Vaughn?" I growled challenging his empty threat._

_He sighed and handed the echo over; and then I was looking into the puffy red face of Sasha. She'd been crying, of that much I was certain, but her eyes were like steel and her jaw was clenched. "What can you possibly have to say to me Rhys?"_

_"Sasha, I love you okay, so just, meet me at the biodome and we can talk about this, it's so much more complicated than it seems."_

_She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a small choked noise, "you know I thought, it can't be true. But it all is. Isn't it? You've been lying to me, this whole time!"_

_"Baby," I leaned in slightly closer, "you've only heard one side of this story. If you just come talk to me you'll understand."_

_Sasha shook her head, "or maybe you'll try and make me go with you no matter what I think? Or will you beat me to a pulp? I hear that's your style." She sucked in a shaky breath, "I can't do this."_

_Suddenly my perspective was changing and I was looking at Vaughn again,_ _"put Sasha back on."_

_Vaughn just looked disappointed,"we'll be seeing you soon Rhys."_

_They ended the call and I swore, I threw the echo device across the shuttle where it smashed against the door. No one on the shuttle made a noise, and they were all very carefully not looking at me._ _I let out a frustrated shout of rage and turned sharply to look at the pilot, "how long until we land?"_

_"T-two or uhm t-three minutes at the uh most Sir," the pilot glanced at me wide eyed._

_"It had better be," I finally sank into my seat and glowered at the floor. Someone was going to pay for this mess._

_The pilot managed to land in two._

_"Get everyone in the base rounded up into the main hall, now," I motioned at the unit commander._

_"Yes Sir!" The soldiers I'd brought were quickly fanning out and herding the staff none too gently._

_I headed straight for medical, and the moment I entered Dietrich was at my side._

_"What the hell happened?" I demanded, "how does one heavily drugged and broken man break out of a facility like this?"_

_"I think one of the nurses helped him escape Sir. We did roll call and we're missing the one who was supposed to be keeping an eye on him."_

_I froze in my step and rounded on her, "help you with him? Did I not say you were supposed to take care of him personally?"_

_She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "I could hardly watch him at all times as well as continue my duties in RM."_

_I stepped closer and grabbed her by the front of her lab coat, "so you ignored my orders."_

_"Sir, I didn't ignore them! I would never ignore an order, I was trying to follow all of them. But I'm only one person, I needed help!"_

_I felt a sneer curling my lip, "you ignored my orders, and because of that choice, you have now cost me more than you can possibly understand," I slammed her backwards into the nearby wall, and her head bounced off of it with a dull thunk._

_"I'm sorry Sir," her speech had became slurred from the blow._

_"Well that's just not good enough, is it?" I asked her slamming her against the wall again, "because there is nothing you can do to fix the damage you've caused you stupid ungrateful bitch!"_

_She groaned in pain, and her eyes glazed over. I studied her face for a moment and found I only become more frustrated at her every confused blink; I let go of her collar and then immediately backhanded her into the floor. Better._

_One of her hands slowly raised in a feeble attempt to fend me off. I might have laughed if I hadn't been so angry._

_"Please," she whimpered._

_I snarled and kicked her in the ribs, Dietrich's screams filled the hallways as something snapped, "please. That's what everyone says you know?" I aimed a kick at her other side and she screamed again, "do you know how good I've been to you?"_

_I bent down and dragged her up off the floor by her throat so that I could look her in the eyes again, she wheezed and flailed weakly in my grasp._

_"I paid you well, gave you your own department. Money and power, I let you live the dream. I trusted you, and this is how you repay me? You know, Jack told me not to trust anyone. But do I listen, oh no, I have to be a soft-hearted moron and give fuck ups like you chances you don't deserve. I should have killed you as soon as I woke up after you found me in the hallway. I should have shot you in that room."_

_I sucked in a breath of oxygen and belatedly realized she'd died at some point during my rant, sometimes it's hard to gauge how hard I'm squeezing with my robotic limb, judging from her throat I'd accidentally crushed her windpipe. Dropping her body with disgust I stood up straight and turned to continue down the hall._

_That's when I saw him, standing awkwardly at the end of the hall with his arms wrapped around his middle as though he might vomit, Adler staring at me in shock._

_"What?" I demanded._

_Adler let out a small whine, "you killed her?"_

_"She failed."_

_"But she. She was so loyal to you, to your...she tried so hard for you?"_

_I stared at him in confusion, "what is this? I've killed people in front of you before. What's so special about this one screw up doctor?"_

_"She was my friend," he stared at her sadly and his arms dropped to his sides._

_A rush of emotion swelled up in my chest and I stamped down on it as best as I could. She had failed me. Monumentally. I was not going to feel guilt. I glared at him for a moment and then I realized how to fix it. It all clicked into place as I calmly pulled out my gun and aimed it at his skull._

_"Sir?" He was suddenly terrified and backing away._

_"You know way too much, and now you're in grief over your friend," my voice was flat, "if I let you live, you'll betray me too."_

_"I would never," he took another step backwards, "who else would let me do the experiments you let me do? Who would I even betray you to?"_

_"I don't know, but I'm not going to find out," I squeezed down on the trigger and blood blossomed at his throat as he slid to the floor. I frowned down at his gurgling form, I really still need to work on improving my aim. I suppose throat is relatively close to head, but really with the amount of people about to come after me, I need to get better._

_I re-holstered my gun as one of my soldiers rushed around the corner, "oh, Sir," the man lowered his weapon, "we almost have everyone in the main hall now."_

_"Good. Separate the medical team."_

_I walked down the hall past Adler's body without a second glance. It felt right this way. They'd been friends. They'd both died. There was no one left behind to be hurt. To hold grudges. It's what I should have done to Vaughn after I'd let Yvette die. I would have solved a lot of my current problems right there. But at least I learned my lesson._

_Arriving in the main hall I found a mass of panicked employees surrounded by soldiers._

_I approached the medical team first, "alright, who wants to tell me about this nurse that helped Vaughn escape?"_

_One doctor slowly raised his hand, "didn't Doctor Dietrich tell you about him?"_

_I sighed, "Dietrich couldn't follow orders, and she's been removed. So, how about you tell me all about this escape."_

_The doctor's eyes widened but he straightened up, "Jerry let Vault Hunters into the facility, then the patient hit Doctor Dietrich in the head and then Jerry fled with him and the Vault Hunters. He must have stopped giving the patient his medication."_

_"Did Jerry have any friends or allies here?"_

_The doctor nodded jerkily, "a few."_

_"Who?"_

_"There's Marie and Freddy," he pointed at two nurses nearby both of whom looked furious at being sold out, "and then there's Kelly over in communications. They all used to take lunches together."_

_I nodded at my soldiers who hauled Marie and Freddy to the front of the room. I climbed up on a nearby table and the room went dead silent._

_"I'm going to need Kelly from communications to come up to the front of the room," no one so much as twitched and I sighed, "if you're standing next to Kelly, you're going to put up your hands."_

_Immediately several people's hands shot up and a woman made a run for the door. My men easily caught her and then they were hauling the struggling woman up to the front of the room._

_"Alright, you see these three here?" There were some nods but mostly everyone seemed to be unable to move at all. "These three. They were friends with a nurse named Jerry who betrayed the company. They didn't turn him in, so I can only assume they were helping him." I motioned with one hand and shots rang out as my men unloaded their weapons into the three employees without fuss. Screams of shock and small gasps echoed in the hall. "Now, we all understand how this works right? If you think your friend is going to betray Atlas, you're going to turn them in. Or else you are going to share the exact same fate as these three."_

_I ran my eyes over the group waiting for someone to say something, to protest, to fight back. But there was nothing. Silence._

_I smiled and pointed at the man next to me, "this is squad commander..." I trailed off as I realized I had no idea what his name was._

_"Commander Barend Janssen Sir," he saluted._

_I turned back to the biodome staff, "Right, Commander Janssen is going to stay down here with his squads and keep an eye on you idiots until further notice. If you notice anything usurious at all, you're going to go straight to him. Now, get back to work."_

_I took a shuttle back up to the station and brought the still unconscious Jack with me in his stasis unit. With Dietrich and Adler gone I'll have to keep an eye on him personally._

_As I sat in the shuttle I found my now fading rage felt like it had emptied out spaces inside of me. I felt hollowed out._

_I had gotten some semblance of revenge, sure, but not on the people who really mattered. Not on Vaughn, or his nurse, or whatever Vault Hunters had helped him. Or Fiona who had been against me from the start. I knew when I began this that I would lose friends. I just hadn't realized it would be all of them. Maybe they were never really my friends._

_When I reached the station I sent more soldiers down to reinforce our bases on Pandora and most importantly to the Hollow Point dig site._

_I will finish this, and no one is going to stop me. Not even Sasha._

* * *

Jack rolled his eyes at the entry, it had taken Rhys long enough to figure it out. Trusting people was just dumb, and the dipshit had just kept doing it over and over again too. Still. Better late than never.

He was a little disappointed about the two doctors being dead. Jack hadn't entirely decided what he thought of them, and he'd thought they might have at least been amusing to watch squirm. But the way Rhys had taken care of them sounded spectacular, maybe he'd have to see if there was camera footage of that.

Jack's only real critique was that Rhysie really needed to learn to enjoy the kill a little more. All the deep introspection about his feelings afterwards was a waste of time. Not to mention annoying when the kid really should just let go. Jack knew Rhys had it in him. He could tell. Hell he'd seen in for himself, or rather his AI had seen it back in the Gortys project building and after when they'd talked about it on top of the caravan.

But that was okay, he had time, and he had no doubt that he could bring out the best in his new favourite weapon.

Jack could already see it, they were going to have all sorts of fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about how this chapter turned out. But I've poured over it trying to fix whatever it is that bothers me about it for two days now, so I figure fuck it, just going to post it. 
> 
> Shoot me a comment if you have time!


	13. Act One // Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: New Rush (By, Gin Wigmore)

 

 _“The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil._  
 _Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation;_  
 _I am alone.”_  
\- Mary Shelley  


* * *

**Act One // Chapter Twelve**

* * *

   


**Entry Twelve**  
  
_It's been four months since my last entry. I'm really just writing this because I need some closure to all this. My last journal entry._  
  
_I've heard nothing more from Sasha or any of the others, though I've been reliably informed that they're holed up in the Children of Helios base._  
  
_Tim disappeared the day after Vaughn escaped. As far as I can tell he's not on Pandora anywhere._  
  
_He released the footage from Epitah of course, as well as any other scraps of data he had. It was to be expected, but it was still frustrating._  
  
_The news for weeks on the more civilized planets was all about what I had done, what Atlas was doing._

 _We actually had one man from the 'Eden 1818 Gazette' that tried to go undercover in Atlas. He very briefly worked in R &D before his manager decided he was asking too many questions and tripped him off a balcony. The reporter fell two stories and broke his neck. We only found out he had been a reporter when we searched his body. The manager who tripped him got a promotion. _  
  
_After all the bad press I entirely expected the backlash. There were angry celebrities 'sending love' to Pandora and 'standing up' to me. Furious posts on the echo-net about bringing awareness to the border planets plight. There were even some attempts by white hat hackers to access our systems. But nothing truly catastrophic happened. After living so long on and then near Pandora, the threats of the civilized planets are laughable at best._  
  
_What I didn't expect was how our new image actually bolstered sales. My marketing team has determined that our core demographic actually prefers that we seem more violent and dangerous. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that people who buy guns by the handful want to be seen that way._  
  
_Lillith has returned to Pandora, I was informed of the development by a panicking Jakobs representative. She had nearly finished wiping Maliwan off of off Thrace when she stopped dead and turned back. Somehow she put the pieces together, and I had to guess that some of those pieces had been delivered by someone who knew about Maya, there was no other explanation_  
  
_The entire team working on siren weapons was interrogated. Eventually we found our leak, a young woman responsible for janitorial duties. I killed her personally and had the entire project moved._  
  
_The new facility has only one line of communication out and it goes directly to me. Those inside can't even leave, locked behind layers of doors that are sealed to anyone that isn't me. They have enough supplies inside to keep them alive for at least six months without a drop off. But after that they'd all starve._  
  
_A little insurance policy for me in case Lillith ever does come knocking. Although with the way our siren weapons are progressing, I doubt she'll be a problem when the time comes._  
  
_Mostly she's seemed content so far to prod at my defences on the surface. In particular she's made feints towards the Hollow Point mining site. Either it's because it's the most heavily guarded operation I have going on Pandora, or because she's been in contact with the Children of Helios. Either way I'm less than thrilled._  
  
_There was another attempt on my life yesterday. That's normal for me at this point of course, but in this case it was too close._  
  
_I was leaving the public announcement on Eden 7 of our new sniper rifle. 'The Maliwhiner' had been a huge hit with our core demographic. Though it was already pissing off anyone who wasn't a fan, protestors filled the streets outside the event._  
  
_I had gotten into the car sent to take me back to my local facility only to realise I wasn't alone._  
  
_A young man was sitting patiently waiting for me._  
  
_"What the-" and before I could continue he had me pinned to the seat with a knife pressed to my throat._  
  
_"You are the reason my sister died," he snarled, "I thought I was going to have to go work at your shitty company, work my way up for the chance to kill you. But lucky me, Maliwan really wants you dead."_  
  
_I did my best to act nonchalant, my security would be there any second, I just had to stall, "you're going to have to be more specific, your sister?"_  
  
_His voice was a deadly hiss, "Yvette. We didn't always see eye to eye on things, but she was my sister. As soon as I read that stupid book that robot wrote - I suspected. She wasn't mentioned by name, but it wasn't hard to guess. Then I finally got confirmation, Vaughn himself calling to let me know the truth after he escaped you, maybe you shouldn't have betrayed all your friends."_  
  
_I was stunned, I had no idea Yvette had a brother, she'd never mentioned him to me. It had been common sense to avoid talking about a potential weak spot at Hyperion. But I'd known her before Hyperion, and yet she'd never said a word._  
  
_"I can see you're surprised," the man scoffed, "you won't be for much longer."_  
  
_"She deserved worse," I managed though my stomach clenched in fear as the metal blade pressed harder at my throat._  
  
_"So do you," and then he was pressing down. There was pain and blood and then finally security was hauling him away before he could finish the job._  
  
_I faded in and out of consciousness from blood loss and was vaguely aware of bandages being pressed to the wound._  
  
_After what felt like an eternity a doctor leaned over me, their panicked face slowly coming into focus, "sir we can try and stitch this up neatly, and there will be minimal scarring if your careful, or I can use an insta-health kit, but with the location there will be visable scar tissue."_  
  
_I hesitated and then reached for the health kit. Is it pretty? No. But I have no time to be laid up healing stitches right now. To say my flesh instantly stitching itself back together was uncomfortable is an understatement. A burning itch that spread across the wound blacked out my vision for a moment before finally fading. I have no idea how vault hunters jam this shit into themselves mid battle and don't even blink._  
  
_Once I'd showered and gotten a new suit I went to go visit my latest prisoner.  My security had faithfully hauled him across the city and straight into our closest facility._ _The man didn't even have the decency to look afraid when I entered the cell._

 _"At least you'll always have something to remember me by," he spat out eyes focused on my neck._  
  
_I laughed, I couldn't help it, "oh, don't worry about that. You're going to do all the suffering your sister couldn't for her, and I definitely don't want to forget that."_  
  
_He stopped being smug after the first half an hour, but he impressively did not start begging me until I started removing limbs in the second hour. He died in the third hour in spite of me doing the best I could to curb the blood loss and drag it out as long as possible._  
  
_The professional interrogators I have on staff can make it last much longer. But I think for an amateur, I kept him alive for quite a bit longer than expected._  
  
_Shortly after that incident I got word from the spies I have in the Children of Helios camp. They started reporting that it was widely rumoured Fiona and the rest will be coming after me soon, that they had some big plan. The exact details of their plan are impossible to get. Apparently whatever it is they're planning doesn't require anyone outside their small circle._  
  
_I've prepared as well as I can, but I doubt it will be enough. Which means I'll be waking Jack soon._  
  
_Whatever it is they expect from me, they'll never guess that the ace up my sleeve is Handsome Jack._  
  
_It'll mean signing the company over to him, trusting him to do what's needed; and frankly after his AI tried to cram a metal exoskeleton into me, trusting him is the last thing I want to do. But it's the only way forward._  
  
_It's funny, if Fiona and the rest had left me to my own devices, I really only would have killed those that absolutely had to die for the greater good. But Jack isn't as merciful as me, and once the device is complete, I'm not sure how many will have to die._  
  
_I think I would have felt bad about that not so long ago. All of Pandora may very well die in the coming months. But if I'm being honest, I'm starting to look forward to it. To Jack's version of the border planets._  
  
_At least it will be interesting to watch._

 

* * *

 

Jack grinned, it was definitely going to be interesting. That was for damn sure. But then, everything Jack did was interesting. After all, he was Handsome god-damned Jack.  
  
Rhys had been less than descriptive this time, his entry unusually short.  
  
He supposed interests and methods of blowing off steam changed when you've been betrayed by everyone you ever trusted. Jack's certainly had, and at least he'd still had some people at the time, Nisha, and Wilhelm.  
  
Rhys had no one, not a single person he'd been close to had stuck around. Which did explain why the kid was so willing to hand over his company and his future.  
  
Reading between the lines it all seemed pretty obvious, Rhys was desperate, lonely, and violent. It was a messy cocktail Jack was all too willing to use to his advantage going forward.  
  
An update from the forces preparing to move in on the ground let him know he had approximately three hours now.  
  
An echo call clicked through from security, "the other vault hunters are arriving Sir and your shuttle is ready whenever you are."  
  
"Well," Jack grinned down at the computer, "guess it's time to have some real fun. Let's go be heroes kids."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ones shorter than normal, sorry about that - my notes for what I wanted in this chapter sucked. Literally all I wrote for myself as notes was "Rhys on the space station or something I guess? Thinking shit?" I rewrote this chapter three times. 
> 
> But it will seriously bother me if I do only eleven chapters in Act One and twelve chapters in Act Two - so basically this is a chapter to attempt some closure to Act One before we go rocketing into the insanity I have planned for what happens next. 
> 
> The interlude will either go up today or tomorrow. 
> 
> Also my poor rooommate/best friend who has to listen to me endlessly go on about my ships and my fan fictions came up with Maliwhiner as the name for the gun. So all credit to him on that one. 
> 
> Shoot me a comment if you've got time!


	14. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Get Happy (Judy Garland Version)

  
_“The monsters were never_  
_under my bed._  
_Because the monsters_  
_were inside my head._  
_I fear no monsters,_  
_for no monsters I see._  
_Because all this time_  
_the monster has been me.”_  
\- Nikita Gill

* * *

**Interlude**

* * *

 

  
  
**Atlas' CEO: Selfish Weapons Dealer? Or Something More Sinister?**  
Madelyn Shelley  
_The Eden 1818 Gazette_

 

> The Atlas Corporation is back, and in a big way. The once decimated company has clawed it's way back into the limelight in the last five years. If you missed their steady progression back into working order you couldn't be blamed. They've primarily stationed themselves on border planets like Pandora with only a few offices on the Eden's themselves.

> The first few years were very well received by locals who were paying attention, a weapons manufacturing company devoting resources to things like terraforming, improved medical aid, and renewable energy all specifically with the border planets in mind; it sounded too good to be true, and maybe there's a reason for that.

> At the same time Atlas was beginning to make a name for itself we saw the first sign that it's new CEO might not be all he was cracked up to be. Scattered reports about the fall of Helios and Hyperion itself pointed to a single employee bringing the space station down, killing thousands in the process. A memoir published by one 'LB Loaderbot' shed further light on what had happened on Pandora, that this single employee who brought so much devastation was in fact the new CEO of Atlas.

> At the time the memoir was generally viewed on most central planets as being the wild ravings of an unstable AI. But I actually personally went to Pandora to interview the ex-Hyperion robot and several of the members of the Children of Helios (a truly strange religion that has sprung up out of the tragedy of the space station's crash), I left more than convinced of the stories truth. I did reach out to the Atlas CEO for comment on the memoir, but I only ever managed to get through to his PA who repetitively informed me that his employer was far too busy. This closed mouth policy with the media is an attitude that has continued at Atlas to this day. 

> But who is the Atlas CEO? Information used to be few and far between, but as the man becomes less stable, more and more information falls through the cracks.

> His name is Rhys, and he either has no last name or it has never been recorded on any document we've managed to find. There were many unsubstantiated rumours that he was born on Promethea, but in spite of extensive digging we have found nothing to confirm that. He was raised in the foster system on Eden 5, he never found a permanent home there, and seems to have no living blood relations. He earned his MBA at Lavenza University with a focus on programming and engineering. He was then accepted into a position in the data-mining department on Helios directly out of school.

> While we found nothing to substantiate the rumours of a Promethean birth place, we did find much more distressing information in the planets records. While at Hyperion it turns out that Rhys was the architect of the much debated and highly controversial eridium mining deal that resulted in the deaths of an entire tribe of Prometheans. The first indication of a sick and dangerous mind? Or a terrible mistake? When we initially discovered this information it was hard to say. More recent developments however seem to suggest the former.

> We've all by now seen the disturbing footage of the Epitah facility which the Atlas corporation appears to have purposefully infected in order to take control of it. But there are further atrocities as of yet rarely reported on by the media. An inside source who is now in hiding for their own safety informed us that it gets much worse.

> The Atlas CEO has reportedly been personally responsible for the devastation caused to Maliwan and their employees. What looked like a series of tragic mishaps and attacks by wildlife were all caused by Atlas and their secret off the record projects. Furthermore the Atlas CEO has taken to public executions in the style of the late CEO of Hyperion, Handsome Jack himself. Our source told us Rhys has been a long time fan of the deceased self proclaimed 'Hero of Pandora'.

> We at the Eden 1818 Gazette will continue to investigate into this man and his companies truly terrifying choices, but we suggest everyone keep a very close eye on his actions.

>  

* * *

 

Fiona glared at the article, she'd just received word that the reporter's house had burned to the ground, her wife had been in a coma since she'd been found beaten half to death in the street, and someone had actually gone out of their way to poison the goldfish in her office. It was hard to decide if Rhys himself had bothered to send someone to torment the woman for publishing the truth about him, or if one of his fans had taken it on themselves. Either way she was pissed.

“Alright and try starting it up now,” Vaughn's voice pulled her back to reality and she turned to view her sister starting the caravan up. For a brief moment the entire thing flickered on the spot and Fiona found herself grinning despite the dire circumstances.

“It worked!” Sasha stepped out of the caravan looking thrilled.

They'd managed to rig the remains of the vault monster to the caravan, it would allow them to phase straight through the Atlas space station doors. If it worked properly.

Seeing Sasha smile even briefly was nice. Her sister seemed to blame herself every time Rhys hurt someone, and given how often that had become, Sasha's smiles had become infrequent.  
Although she suspected no one believed her, Fiona had really hoped that she'd been wrong about Rhys.

“Oh yay!” Gortys cheered, the little robot seemed incredibly sad when they'd explained what Rhys had been up to. The entire conversation had made Fiona feel like a monster for even telling her.  
Loaderbot tilted his head at her but didn't say anything.

Fiona had thought when this moment came she would feel vindicated. But she didn't, it was all too depressing. Her mind drifted to the laughed conversation she'd shared with Rhys before they'd opened the box in the Vault, and she wondered not for the first time if this had always been who Rhys was under all the salesman smiles, or if it had been the Vault. Could she have saved him if she'd just suggested that they not open that damn box? Or would it have been different if he'd gotten the whole message? Could this have been her if she'd gotten the other half? She didn't think she could ever think the way Rhys was, but it was so hard to tell with Eridian technology.

Fiona shook the what ifs from her mind and checked her weapons and shield over. This was it, they were going to get Rhys, to end this now before it could go any further.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow trying to post this was fun. Totally forgot they were updating the website.
> 
> Act Two, Chapter One will be posted by Monday morning at the latest. 
> 
> As always, shoot me a comment if you have the time, they make my day!


	15. Act Two // Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Black Eyes (By, Radical Face)

 

 _Monsters are most dangerous when they're afraid_  
\- Victoria Aveyard

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter One**

* * *

  
  
It took several hours before the vehicle they were transporting Rhys in finally stopped moving and he was hauled none too gently out into the Children of Helios camp.  
  
It appeared they'd removed their 'statue of him' and the hero worship that once had them literally bowing seemed to have died out. He supposed the ones that actually wanted to follow him were already working at Atlas. So it wasn't particularly surprising that the people left here wanted nothing to do with him.  
  
A woman with a purple tie wrapped around her head as some sort of makeshift bandana ran up as they arrived. The Children of Helios were so bizarre sometimes, scratch that, all the time.  
  
"Vaughn said to inform you that the Crimson Raider's arrived while you were away," the woman couldn't seem to stop herself from looking over at Rhys every few seconds.  
  
Well, if he was going to be held against his will he refused to do so gracefully, mustering his best leer he winked at the woman, "like what you see?"  
  
Startled and obviously uncomfortable she took a step backwards and Fiona smacked him across the back of his head, "do yourself a favour and shut the hell up Rhys."  
  
The messenger let loose a strained giggle before clapping her hand over her mouth in horror, “I didn't mean...that is I wasn't laughing at you Sir.”

She was obviously afraid of him, and Rhys nearly laughed until Fiona smacked him again, “don't apologise to the prisoner, what was the message?”

The woman's eyes darted between them nervously and she licked her lips before going on, "Lillith is with the Raiders, and Vaughn said she's on a warpath, and that she expects us to hand him over."  
  
Fiona snorted, "I expected to get off this dirt-ball and live in a high rise on Eden 6; she can expect whatever the hell she likes, doesn't mean she'll get it."  
  
Well, suspicions confirmed, Lillith definitely knew he had Maya, but would she tell anyone here? It certainly didn't seem like she had yet.  
  
True to the messengers words Lillith met them further into the compound, "Fiona."  
  
"Lillith," Fiona handed Rhys' chains over to Loaderbot and walked forward.  
  
"You will relinquish this monster into my-" the Siren started only to be interrupted.  
  
"-No."  
  
"I wasn't giving you a choice."  
  
"Me neither. He will face judgement. Here and now. He blew up my home, with my mentor and her wife in it. He beat my friend to a pulp, and lied to my sister for years about everything he was doing. I warned everyone and no one helped me do a damn thing. He is mine. You can stay and watch if you want."  
  
"Gosh Fiona, never knew you cared so much," Rhys interjected and Fiona cuffed him again.  
  
"Fine. I will stay and observe...for now," Lillith glowered at him and Rhys winked at her.  
  
"Rhys, move," Sasha shoved him and he stumbled forward, she was really pissing him off.  
  
Inhaling through his nose in an attempt to calm himself he continued walking through the encampment, head held high completely ignoring the anger he seemed to be receiving from all angles.  
  
At the entrance to Helios stood Vaughn, he was hunched over more than usual and leaning heavily on a cane. His mouth was pressed into a grim line that didn't suit his face. The party came to a halt in front of him and Sasha gave the broken man a sad little smile and then hugged him fondly. Rage sparked back to life in Rhys' chest.  
  
"You went to all this trouble to stab me in the back Vaughn," Rhys leaned forward as far as the chains would allow and sneered, "you could smile more."  
  
Vaughn sighed and shook his head, before turning away from his once best friend entirely, "put him in the holding cell, I want a guard posted at all times."  
  
"Think I'm going to try and escape?" Rhys grinned.  
  
Vaughn spoke in a cold tone over his shoulder, "no, I think someone might kill you before we get to trial."  
  
"Still trying to keep me alive?"  
  
"You deserve so much worse than death Rhys," Vaughn snapped finally turning back to glare at him.  
  
Rhys rolled his eyes, "well that was cliche. You're not even the first person to say basically that to me this month,” he paused for dramatic tension, “Yvette's brother got there first."  
  
Vaughn blanched and Fiona grabbed Rhys dragging him forward, "do you ever shut up?  
  
"Not when I'm being held against my will by a bunch of lunatics," he shot back.  
  
"Yvette's brother is he..." Vaughn looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, "did you kill him?"  
  
Rhys smirked, it was too easy, "well lets see, first he gave me this neat scar on my neck, and you know, it gets a little fuzzy from the blood loss after that."  
  
"What did you do with him?" Vaughn took a step closer.  
  
"Just made sure he got what he deserved, and what Yvette deserved, for hours. You know he told me that you told him what happened to Yvette so, that means you sorta caused his death I guess?"  
  
Vaughn lunged at him and Rhys easily got his chain tangled around the man's cane sending them both sprawling. Rhys felt the skin tear on his flesh wrist as he hit the end of the chain, but he couldn't care less. He was far too busy laughing at successfully having egged the smaller man to violence.  
  
Fiona helped Vaughn up with a concerned expression and Loaderbot roughly yanked Rhys back to his feet.  
  
"You will cease your antagonizing comments," the yellow robot's voice was loud and directly in Rhys' ear.  
  
"He did ask," the cyborg pointed out casually.  
  
Fiona smacked him across the back of the head again and Rhys fumed. She was going to pay for every single one of those.  
  
"Get him into a cell," Vaughn spoke still looking furious, "the trial will start tomorrow."

 

* * *

 

Rhys' cell was much improved from the glass box they'd had Loaderbot in all those years ago. It had a cobbled together look, metal clumsily welded into an approximation of bars. But on examining it with his echo eye he found it to be without any serious integral weakness.  
  
He also discovered he'd been cut off from the echo net, some sort of dampener most likely.  
  
He had a thin mattress on the floor, and in the opposite corner there was a small lidded hole that passed for a toilet.  
  
His guard proved to be incredibly dull, and despite Rhys' best attempts to get some response out of the man he found himself entirely ignored.  
  
The first visitor to his cell was Lillith, entering into the room and calmly seating herself in a chair on the other side of the bars. She didn't say a word, just stared intensely at him as though waiting for something.

Rhys had been lounging on his cot when she entered and decided to not bother moving or acknowledging the woman.  
  
Finally after several minutes of uncomfortable silence she spoke first, "where is she?"  
  
Rhys smiled and spared her a glance, "she who?"  
  
A low snarl revealed Lillith was not nearly so calm as she was attempting to appear, "you know damn well who."  
  
Sliding off the cot and to his feet Rhys stood and clasped his hands behind his back as he examined the woman. His echo eye flashed as he scanned over her. He only got basic information without his connection to the echo net. Her approximate height, hair colour, eye colour, nothing he couldn't glean on his own.  
  
But Rhys had found fairly early on that people were uncomfortable when he scanned them. This appeared to hold true even for sirens.  
  
"You think you're safe from me?" She spat sweeping to her feet, "I could kill you from here, I could rip you apart you smug corporate asshole!"  
  
Rhys let out an exasperated sigh and took a step closer to the bars, "then do it."  
  
In one movement she'd phased past the bars and had him pinned against the far wall, glowing arm held up in front of his face. His guard shouted in surprise and then was calling into the hallway for help. That was new, according to his records she hadn't been able to phase-walk through solid objects before. Interesting.  
  
But Rhys never let his eyes waver from the the siren's face, she should have been terrifying, a woman who could literally rip him apart with her mind, but he had something she wanted and he felt confident he wasn't about to die.  
  
"Tell me where she is," Lillith hovered her glowing hand closer to his face.  
  
"Wouldn't matter if I did," Rhys let a grin spread across his face, "you can't get in."  
  
"There isn't anything that could stop me," she had a nasty smirk spreading across her face.  
  
Rhys laughed, "you'll find your powers quite useless there sweetheart."  
  
Two more guards entered the the room and were telling her to back out of the cell. With a final glare she let go and stepped back before phasing back to her side of the bars, "I will find her, and if you've hurt her Atlas, I'll make you bleed."  
  
"If they kill me here, you'll never find her, and she'll starve to death when they run out of food," when Lillith stopped moving to look at him he grinned like a shark.  
  
"You bastard," she snapped raising her arm again in anger.  
  
Rhys just shrugged nonchalantly and leaned against the wall, "guess you'll have to try and keep them from killing me."  
  
It was at this point Fiona arrived, "we didn't let you in here so that you could kill him before the trial even starts."  
  
"I have no intention of killing him until I get what I want," Lillith stopped and seemed to consider something, she reached out to grab Fiona's arm, "I need to talk to you about the reason I'm here, and I need you to keep it to yourself. I don't trust your sister, or these Hyperions, but you've made a good name for yourself. So just you, understood."  
  
Fiona glared past Lillith at Rhys, "yeah, I got it."  
  
Both women left without a backwards glance but Rhys just rolled his eyes and returned to his mattress. They'd all get what was coming to them soon.  
  
His second visitor surprised him a couple hours later. A small round man in oval glasses and a sweater vest. In the movies he would be the kind of guy who stammered and sweat profusely. But in actuality his plump jaw held firm and his eyes were like daggers.  
  
Rhys titled his head as he examined the new comer, he didn't recognise him.  
  
"You killed my friend." His voice was nasal but very steady.  
  
"I've killed a lot of people," Rhys threw him his salesman smiles that seemed to so aggravate most people, "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."  
  
"His name was Harris, you killed him for selling secrets to Jakobs. Well, you let the spiderants kill him. There wasn't even anything to send home to his family."  
  
"People shouldn't be spies," Rhys' brow furrowed and he took a step closer to the bars, "so you were the other spy?"  
  
"No," the man scowled, "I was loyal up until then. I'm the one who let Vaughn free, and now you're going to pay for what you did to Harris."  
  
"Jerry," the cyborg let out the name at a hiss, "oh Jerry, you shouldn't have reminded me that you existed. But just so you know, I didn't just kill Harris. After you left I had your other little friends shot too, what were their names..."  
  
The small man's eyes bulged and he stepped closer to the cell in anger, "they had nothing to do with this!"  
  
Rhys sneered, "well it's a little late now...what were their names? You're going to have to give me hint here I think."  
  
Jerry took a small step closer, "who told yo-"  
  
His voice cut off as Rhys lunged through the bars and wrapped his cybernetic limb around the shorter man's throat, "oh yes, I remember now, Marie, Freddy, and Kelly, death by firing squad."  
  
The guard was rushing over and trying to pry Rhys' arm from around the man. Jerry was rapidly turning beet red as he flailed and twitched in Rhys' grasp.  
  
"Three nobodies who meant nothing; not even to you apparently seeing as you left them behind," Rhys whispered cruelly into the man's ear  
  
Another guard rushed into the room and Rhys felt the prick of a needle at his throat.  
  
As his vision started to fade he realized it was clearly time to hurry the process up. He pulled with all his remaining strength and was gifted with a crunching sound before whatever drug they'd given him sent him drifting into oblivion.  
  
Rhys woke with a pounding headache and sunlight shining into his cell. He felt shaky and in-spite of the warm sun he had a chill in his bones. Sasha sat in a chair several feet from the bars.  
  
His jacket had been removed at some point and there were scratches on the chrome of his arm, clearly there had been some failed attempts at removal. They had however upon failing handcuffed his hands together.  
  
"You'll be disappointed to hear we managed to keep Jerry alive," Sasha's voice was monotone, "although he'll be missing the trial seeing as you broke his neck."  
  
Rhys rubbed his face and sat up with a groan, "well I guess I'll just have to go visit Jerry later then. Finish our conversation."  
  
Sasha just sighed, "you're not going anywhere Rhys. Except down to your trial, it starts in one hour by the way, so good timing waking up when you did."  
  
He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, "sorry if I don't cheer."  
  
Sasha stood from her seat and Rhys briefly opened his eyes to see her giving him a smug look, "you don't look so good, I mean that diazepam dose was prepared in-case Lillith got out of hand, there was enough to take down a siren."  
  
Rhys just grinned, "well at least I got to throttle Jerry."  
  
"Good to see you're so upbeat, the first person on the stand is Claptrap."  
  
Rhys' eyes widened, "what the hell did I ever do to Claptrap? I've met that trash-can all of once."  
  
Sasha smirked, "nothing, he's an expert witness in the subject of corporate megalomaniac assholes."  
  
Rhys just groaned, closed his eyes again and prayed Jack would arrive soon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Act Two guys! I couldn't resist torturing Rhys a little here (I mean he sure deserves it at this point.) 
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter. I'm going to try and get the next one out for Friday morning at the latest. Do try and bare with me though because Mass Effect Andromeda comes out this week, I have a Numenera game to run, a birthday lunch to organize and I promised a friend of mine I'd go to Beauty and the Beast with her. So it's a busy week, but I did take a couple extra days off work so it all hopefully shouldn't interfere with my update schedule.
> 
> So shoot me a comment if you want! I'd love to read what you think.
> 
> Also last chapter I had someone ask if they could do fan art and hells yes is the answer to that! Do fan art, write your own fan fic with my version of events. I am borrowing someone elses art and universe to play - so no reason anyone can't do the same with my borrowed version. My only request is that you let me know! Because I would love to see it or read it or whatever!


	16. Act Two // Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Nobody Likes Me (By, Deuce) 
> 
> WARNING: There is one word he uses in this song (I think twice?) that I absolutely hate, but I know in places that are not Canada it is less of a big deal. So, listen at your own peril kids.

_“Some people have abusive, negative, controlling tendencies in their blood;_  
_they are wired for havoc, bickering and deception.”_  
-Bryant McGill

 

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Two**

* * *

  
  
When the time for the trial came, Fiona arrived at the door with Lillith and two Crimson Lance soldiers. Rhys was hauled up and marched into the remains of Helios' cafeteria.  
  
They'd set it up as a makeshift court room, well he supposed it was more of a judgement room really seeing there were no lawyers or law involved.  
  
There was a long table with seven seats at the front of the hall, and just below this was a large metal chair which he was escorted to and then strapped into. There were also benches and chairs pulled up all around the large room for the audience of people slowly filtering in.  
  
So, they were going with the making a spectacle route, he wasn't particularly shocked, Pandorans seemed to adore dramatics. That was fine he decided, if they wanted him to be some big bad villain so badly, he'd play the role, watch them squirm. After all, as Shakespeare said, 'all the world's a stage.'  
  
So even though his head pounded with every movement he stood tall, back straight and sneered haughtily at the single camera they'd scrounged up to film the trial. As they strapped him down to his seat he made sure to never take his eyes off Vaughn, a vicious grin spreading across his face. The act seemed to unnerve at least Vaughn and Sasha, although Fiona looked unimpressed and Lillith actually rolled her eyes.  
  
Finally the trial was ready to start, and true to Sasha's word Claptrap was the first to speak. The robots insanely irritating tones seemed to make his headache a thousand times worse with every word. The stupid machine wasn't even talking about anything to do with him, it was telling everyone a story about living on the Southern Shelf and how Handsome Jack had tried to kill it. Rhys decided right there that failing to kill this robot was most likely the most unforgivable thing Jack had ever done.

 

* * *

 

Jack was watching the trial via a few drones he had hovering over the proceedings cloaked.  
  
There was no audio, however he could quite clearly see the gathered group of judges including Lillith. Jack gritted his teeth and then settled into a content smile. If this all went to plan she would die screaming.  
  
Rhys himself looked bored out of his skull and extremely irritated as Claptrap made an animated speech. And Claptrap?! Really? What was that stupid peice of trash even doing there? He had assumed Pandora would have taken care of the irritating tin can, how it had continued to survive was entirely beyond him.  
  
The crowed seemed to be mostly made up of Crimson Lance soldiers and Children of Helios, though there did seem to be a few other Pandorans in attendance.  
  
“The shuttle will be over head in five sir,” the co-pilot informed him from the front of the shuttle. Making sure his cloaking device was in place Jack cracked his knuckles.  
  
Showtime!

 

* * *

  
Rhys had nearly reached the point where he was just going to ask them to end it already rather than listen to Claptrap ever again when the familiar noise of overhead shuttles filled the cafeteria. Rhys looked straight up at Vaughn again and grinned.  
  
Lillith shot to her feet closely followed by the others, "what was that noise?"  
  
Fiona frowned, "who would have taken command at Atlas with Rhys gone?"  
  
"Rothstein would probably take care of the day to day until something permanent was decided, but he'd never risk attacking us," Vaughn eyed the ceiling and frowned before looking back at Rhys, "who is in control if you're gone? Is there someone set to step in as CEO?"  
  
Rhys laughed, "oh I'm not the CEO anymore actually, so no need for someone to step in, I'm the COO currently."  
  
"You're not..." Sasha suddenly looked sick, "we need to run, he knew we were coming for him, which means he knew we'd take him."  
  
Lillith's eyes narrowed, "so you've walked us into a trap."  
  
Suddenly the roof exploded and Atlas Soldiers, and Mechs were dropping into the cafeteria and training their guns on the audience.  
  
Lillith held up a gun and pointed it at Rhys, "call them off now you corporate douchebag, you know your little toy soldiers can't stand up to a siren."  
  
Rhys raised one eyebrow, "couldn't if I wanted to, as I said, not CEO any more."  
  
Fiona scowled, "well then who the hell is?"  
  
"Ah, that'd be me sweetcheeks," a smug voice spoke from behind them as Handsome Jack became visible with a strange looking gun aimed at Lillith.  
  
Lillith's eyes bulged, "you're dead."  
  
Jack laughed and then shrugged, "got over it, but man - you are going to wish I hadn't you psycho bitch."  
  
A blast of something blue shot out of the gun before Lillith could say a word and she dropped to the ground unconscious.  
  
"You sure she's disabled cupcake?" Jack asked glancing over at the still strapped down Rhys.  
  
Rhys smirked clearly pleased with himself, "we tested the prototypes thoroughly."  
  
Jack grinned, holstering the stun ray as he moved, "if any of you idiots moves, I'll kill all of you, and everyone else in the damn room."  
  
Rhys tilted his head clearly unsure what to expect as Jack stopped in front of the younger man to examine him. He knew he was different looking than the Rhys Jack's AI had known, his features had become more angular, a few wisps of grey starting to grow in, lines on his face hardened by stress. Add in the new cybernetics and the jagged scar that cut across his throat, he may as well have been a new person.  
  
Jack scowled suddenly and then punched him in the face, shocked silence filled the room as Rhys who didn't seem at all surprised by the action just groaned, and then Jack started to laugh.  
  
"Had to get a little payback there, but we're good now pumpkin," Jack reached down and undid the straps.  
  
Rhys just nodded accepting the punch for what it was and straightened his nose out with a wince as soon as his hands were free.  
  
A cry from the door pulled the cyborgs attention “Lillith's down!”  
  
Which is of course when more Vault Hunters entered the room, guns drawn, and everything immediately went to hell. Shots were fired in every direction and Rhys dropped behind the chair he'd previously been seated in.  
  
"I'm not leaving without that Siren bitch," Jack informed him with a growl.  
  
Rhys peered over the chair, and then plucked the gun off of a nearby dead Atlas soldier, "you can get Lillith, I'll distract them?"  
  
Jack titled his head for a moment as though considering, "fine, but don't go dying while you're still useful."  
  
He knew he shouldn't feel pride at that comment, hell if he was any kind of sane he should feel horror even encountering Handsome Jack again. But no, that old hero worship leaked through no matter what.  
  
Rhys motioned at some nearby Atlas soldiers to guard him and headed directly towards the group that had him on trial up until a moment ago.  
  
Claptrap had fallen over and was making hideous shrieking noises. Loader-Bot was trying to get Gortys out of the room, even though she obviously was refusing until they helped Claptrap, and Fiona and Sasha were helping Vaughn to his feet.  
  
"You idiot!" Fiona snarled as he approached them, "you do all this shit, and then you cap it off by bringing back the one guy who can make it even worse."  
  
Rhys just sighed and pointed his gun at Sasha, "shut up Fiona."  
  
She snarled one arm still half holding up Vaughn, "or what you'll kill us? You're going to try and kill us all any ways!"  
  
"Only if you get it my way."  
  
She snorted, “don't act like you have any control over what's going to happen next, you gave that up the moment you handed the reigns over to him, along with whatever remained of your dignity you drooling sycophant!”  
  
“Ooo, big word Fiona, Vaughn teach you that one?”  
  
Her eyes narrowed to slits, “go fuck yourself Rhys.”  
  
He smirked, "listen why don't you all just surrender, and then you can have a trial, promise we can even bring Claptrap. I mean Jack will probably pull out his voice box and use him as a foot stool, but still."  
  
A strangled screech sounded from Claptrap, and the robot started fleeing the moment Gortys and Loaderbot got him to his feet.  
  
"Oh screw this," Fiona muttered, her arm came up and that's all the warning Rhys got before she was shooting bullets with acid damage at him.  
  
It was messy and chaotic, soldiers from both side dropped like flies, and the Children of Helios who'd been in the room were mostly already dead.  
  
Rhys was not great at combat, but he was surviving. The upgrades he'd made to his cybernetics had helped at least, although less effectively without his echo net connection.  
  
''We're leaving," Jack was next to him seemingly out of nowhere carrying the unconscious siren over one arm. He had someone else's blood splattered across his face and a grin that stretched from ear to ear.  
  
Rhys just nodded, not trusting himself with words when the other man looked that thrilled. He'd probably say something weird and ruin it, sometimes it was simply better to not speak.  
  
Cables dropped into the room from the above Atlas shuttles. Jack looped his foot into one and grabbed onto it with a practised ease. Rhys followed suit somewhat more clumsily, okay, if Rhys was being honest it was on the verge of incompetent, but he managed to get it looped well enough that he wouldn't fall and that was really the important thing.  
  
When he looked up from the cable he found Jack was talking over an echo communicator, "now."  
  
Explosions sounded off around the room and the floor started to crumble and fall away. Rhys caught sight of Fiona running for the door. Their eyes briefly met, and if looks could kill Rhys would have fallen dead there.  
  
And then they were lifting away and up. The cables being drawn up towards the shuttles as they rocketed up and away from the chaos. It took all Rhys had to hang on to the cable and he was really glad he'd remembered to use his cybernetic arm.  
  
Once they were in the shuttle Jack dropped Lillith unceremoniously to the ground before casually stomping down on her leg. She didn't even twitch.  
  
"Man this shit knocks em right out," the grin still hadn't left his face, "good job pumpkin."  
  
That almost sickening feeling of pride seeped into the cyborgs mind again, he couldn't help but be pleased with the praise. It was so incredibly messed up but he felt like everything had just somehow been fixed, as if this was how it was supposed to be. He'd obviously missed Jack more than he thought he had, although he couldn't figure out why.  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow, "looking a little dazed there cupcake, you take another blow to the head? Knock a few more screws loose?"  
  
Rhys folded his arms, he certainly hadn't missed the teasing, "no."  
  
Jack took a few steps closer then stopped, "good, need that pretty little head of yours intact if we're going to use to blow every single bandit out of the universe."  
  
A shiver spread up his spine, there was something intense about the way Jack was examining him. Rhys cleared his throat and sat down, "I wasn't sure you'd want to keep me alive."  
  
The man snorted, "why? Because you messed with an AI copy of me?"  
  
"I guess? Or Helios maybe?"  
  
Jack shook his head an laughed, "you're too valuable to kill over Nakatami's little pet project, and Helios had a shit ton of people on it who didn't bring me back to life, so honestly I couldn't care less."  
  
An alert flashed across Rhys' eye as he reconnected to the echo net. He eased into his seat as he let go of stress he hadn't realized he'd been holding, being disconnected was like someone had cut off one of his senses; it was stressful.  
  
A small groan of relief escaped his mouth and Jack smirked, "I know you're a fanboy Rhysie, but you're going to have to get better stamina than that if we're gonna have real fun."  
  
Was Jack flirting with him? The older man winked at him and then returned to looking over a report one of the soldiers had handed him. Rhys' mind stuttered, that had definitely been flirting.  
  
In his early twenties this had been a regular fantasy of his, then after the AI it had been a nightmare, a twisted reminder of what had been incredibly naive dreams. Now he just wasn't sure.  
  
Technically this was his first time meeting the man, the real Jack anyway; and the real Jack had not tried to stuff a metal skeleton into him. But still, that cackling laughter lingered in his mind, and he knew he should be worried or uncomfortable. But there was none of that, just the edge of excitement, a twisted thrill promising to be just over the horizon if only he'd look.  
  
"At a loss for words pumpkin?"  
  
"Just trying to guess who you were with that made a sound like that when they orgasmed," Rhys responded bluntly with a small smile, "whoever it was Jack - I think they were lying to you."  
  
Jack froze and the cyborg briefly wondered if he was about to die, and then the new Atlas CEO was laughing, "a better question is why do you think no one is quiet like that? Are you real loud when you get off cupcake?"  
  
Rhys' face went red, he certainly could be loud, but that wasn't really something he wanted to discuss with Atlas soldiers around; or possibly at all.  
  
"Oooo, you're blushing," Jack grinned, "yeah I bet you are loud, probably start out all commanding, but really you just need someone to hold you down and use you right? Just want to let go of the reigns for a bit?"  
  
Rhys scowled and turned away hoping the arousal those words had kindled weren't going to turn into an erection.  
  
Jack just chuckled again and then leaned back in his seat seemingly content to leave it at that for the moment.  
  
This was going to be more complicated than Rhys had initially thought apparently.  
  
But maybe it would be good casual fun? He pushed the thought away, Handsome Jack was a violent man who got off on violence. Was that actually something he still wanted? From the way his cock twitched the answer certainly seemed to be yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I actually wrote a chapter while playing the new Mass Effect! Crazy! 
> 
> Next one should be up Tuesday morning at the latest!
> 
> As always please do toss me a comment! You guys are awesome and make it easy for me to put down other crap and work on this instead, so in case I don't say it enough, thank you!


	17. Act Two // Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Don't Mess With Me (By, Temposhark)  
> Yup it's a cliche. I don't care - it fit with the general feel of this fic too well.
> 
> Also I feel like this may be the chapter where I start really earning that Graphic Violence warning.

_“Cowards make the best torturers._  
_Cowards understand fear and they can use it.”_  
\- Mark Lawrence

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Three**

* * *

   
  
As the shuttle set down Jack felt almost bubbly. Bouncing on his heels slightly with a small grin he couldn't seem to keep off his face. He reached down and dragged the still unconscious Lillith up by her throat before casually tossing her over his shoulder.  
  
Rhys followed closely at his heels as Jack stepped off of the shuttle. The CEO glanced over his shoulder at the cyborg, the younger man seemed to be observing him almost cautiously, like Jack was a bomb about to go off. That would need to change.  
  
The facility they'd arrived at was embedded into a cliff side, the only entrance was a small door at the end of the landing platform.  
  
"Well Pumpkin, how do we get in?"  
  
Rhys had a small smile of pride as he approached the space next to the wall, when he pressed his flesh hand to the surface it lit up and made a chirping noise, it was a screen.  
  
_**Voice Password**_  
  
The thin man said something that sounded like " _shee-ant_ " to Jack but the word that appeared on the screen as he spoke was spelled **_Éiteag_**.  
  
The door slid open and Jack started to head towards it before being cut off by metal arm in his path.  
  
"There's one more security measure," Rhys said apologetically in response to the irritated look Jack had shot at the man.  
  
Rhys stepped through the door and another chirp noise sounded off before a scanner started to run up and down his person. After a few minutes it chirped again and a cheerful voice declared "biometric scan is within acceptable parameters."  
  
"It's safe now," Rhys said softly with a glance over his shoulder.  
  
"What happens to someone whose not you cupcake?"  
  
"They're disassembled."  
  
Jack examined the walls as he followed Rhys into the facility. Disassembling people definitely had more uses than just securing doors, the sheer horror that could cause on the battle field alone would be worth it.  
  
"You weaponized that for a gun yet?"  
  
Rhys chewed his lip and then sighed, "we've been trying, but the doors were Adler's design and his death has set the project back...somewhat."  
  
Jack chuckled, "well who needs Adler now that I'm here; you have your PA send me the schematics cupcake, disassembling people sounds like too much fun to pass up."  
  
Rhys' echo eye lit up briefly, "Rothstein will have them to you before we get back on the station. Thank you for letting me keep him by the way."  
  
"I offered him the chance to be my PA, but he wanted to stick with you," Jack grinned suddenly, "you screwing your PA or something pumpkin?"  
  
Rhys stopped dead cheeks flaring pink as he turned to look at him, "of course not, he's my PA."  
  
"And?"  
  
"That would be against company policy," Rhys shook his head, "interferes with efficiency."  
  
Jack let loose a chortle, "you'll shoot your staff but you won't fuck them?"  
  
"There's nothing in the company policy about shooting them," Rhys' voice had gotten hard and his eyes narrowed.  
  
Jack just shrugged, "alright, can't bang the PA, what about the COO?"  
  
Rhys' eyes widened and his whole face turned red, a small strangled noise escaped the man's throat and then he turned away without responding to continue down the hall.  
  
Jack smirked at the other man's ass, he was definitely conquering that particular leggy 'mountain', company policy be damned.  
  
Eventually Rhys led him to a cell outfitted for a siren, the project scientists locking the unconscious red head to the floor and starting the process of installing a collar. The design was based on the Jack's original schematics, the main difference being that the new ones were drilled straight into the siren's neck.  
  
"Maya's across the hall in case you wanted to get some payback.” Rhys' mismatched eyes were focused on him again, “what logs I did get from Hyperion indicated she's one of the vault hunters you were dealing with prior to them uh...shooting you.”  
  
"Shooting me?" Jack snarled, "you mean viciously murdering me like the bandit filth they are?"  
  
Rhys didn't even twitch at Jack's threatening tone, "fair enough, yes that."  
  
The other man had definitely toughened up, the only thing that seemed to draw that old flustered Rhys out was when Jack flirted with him. It was a weakness Jack was more than happy to exploit.  
  
He stepped into the other man's space and placed one arm over the cyborg's shoulders, "well come on Rhysie, lets go visit the blue bitch while this one sleeps off that stun ray."  
  
"You want me to come with you?" Rhys sounded confused.  
  
"Sure, sure - I'll give you some pointers, because you know, I saw that video of you torturing the Jacobs leak, and don't get me wrong, it was all sorts of attractive, but a little amateur."  
  
Rhys spluttered slightly and Jack lowered his hand to the small of his back to push him along. It was funny really, the guy could torture a man for days, but one touch to his back and he was practically a blushing maiden.  
  
Entering into Maya's cell she didn't even look up from where she sat.  
  
"It's not going to be any fun if you just sit there," Jack snarked as they approached.  
  
That got her head snapping up first in shock and then a death glare was immediately focused on Rhys, "you son of a bitch."  
  
"My mother was an incredibly kind woman I'll have you know," Rhys responded dryly.  
  
"You brought him back. Him. I thought you'd hit rock bottom, but this. Him," she was practically hissing, "it's a brand new low."  
  
Jack walked closer and hauled her to her feet getting in as close as he could, "that's some judgemental words from a child killer."  
  
Maya turned her head away, "it's what she wanted."  
  
Jack slapped her to the floor where she landed with a satisfying thud, "no, no, you don't get to talk about her you psychopathic bandit scum, you get to scream while I teach Rhysie here a thing or two about torture. If you mention her again, I'll have to cut out your tongue early, and we all know that's just not as much fun right?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed and she quickly pulled herself backwards from them, "you're both psychotic, and when I get out of here I'm going to incinerate your brains."  
  
Jack rolled his eyes, "wow, haven't even changed your threats, it's been more than five years, get some original material for fucks sake."  
  
"This is some torture technique you've got there; you always start by bantering with your prisoners?" Rhys quipped from behind him.  
  
Jack turned to wink at the thin man, "only when I'm showing off for you pumpkin."  
  
Rhys smug expression dropped immediately and his face flushed again, but he didn't look away apparently having given up on hiding his reactions.  
  
Jack closed the space between them and examined the younger man's mouth which was now less than a foot away. "Come on cupcake, don't play coy, you were one of my little fanboys once, you probably masturbate to the idea of me."  
  
"Oh gross," Maya groaned in disgust from behind him.  
  
Rhys made a keening noise in the back of his throat and then immediately looked embarrassed. "I don't think this is a great idea if we're going to work together Jack."  
  
This was just getting irritating now, playing hard to get was great and all, but that wasn't how this worked, Jack made a soft tsk noise and then pressed his COO back to the wall by his throat.  
  
"Rhys, Rhysie...listen, this isn't working together," Jack snarled, "you work for me, I own you; you're alive for two reasons cupcake, number one you're my shiny new weapon to use on the bandits, number two you have nice ass and I like how you murder people - so I'm thinking you can double as my new fuck-toy. Now you can pretend that you don't want this, or you can grow a pair and let me fuck you on whatever furniture happens to be nearby when the mood strikes."  
  
Rhys' flush looked more turned on than embarrassed now and he was pressing back at the hand around his throat. A metal hand connected with the inside of Jack's elbow and his hand was ripped from the other man's throat.  
  
The cyborg took in a deep breath of oxygen, and Jack could see a calculating look behind the glare Rhys was currently sending his way.  
  
"I don't have all-" Jack's sentence was cut off as Rhys pressed into his space, lips crashing roughly into his own and metal hand closing harshly around the CEOs wrist. Jack pushed right back, slamming Rhys back into the wall again with a jarring speed that was sure to leave bruises.  
  
A retching noise behind him reminded them Maya was in the room and Jack pulled away from Rhys with a grin, "we're being rude pumpkin, promised this bandit scum we'd torture her."  
  
"Oh you're torturing me," Maya assured them wrinkling her noise.  
  
Jack paid her no mind though, his eyes still on Rhys, "I think fucking you so hard you can't move will have to wait until after, besides I want watch you get blood up to your elbows, close and personal."  
  
A thrilled look practically glowed behind Rhys' eyes and he turned to regard Maya. His echo eye flickered and the chains attached to the siren retracted until she was pressed against the floor. "I'll have a guard bring tools."  
  
For a man who'd spent so many journal entries bemoaning the necessity of his actions, he looked awfully excited at the prospect of torturing someone and then being used like a cheap whore.  
  
"Attaboy," Jack grinned and ran one hand through the back of the younger man's hair tugging ever so slightly as he moved away.  
  
"Just kill me now," Maya was looking anywhere but at them and Jack couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"You're not dying for a long, long time," he promised.

 

* * *

 

Rhys slowly pressed into Maya's right elbow until he felt the pop that indicated he'd successfully dislocated it. She was already bleeding from her hands where Jack had carefully shown him exactly how to cause the most pain with the smallest slices.  
  
"Good," Jack sounded proud, "just like that; you're doing so good you messed up little freak."  
  
He said it like it was a term of endearment, and in all fairness to Jack it probably was.  
  
It was fine though, all under control, Rhys had been a lot of things over his life, and if he needed to be the personal weapon/fuck-toy of Handsome Jack, so be it. There were certain perks to it after all, especially since Jack hadn't been far off the mark when he'd suggested that Rhys had masturbated to the idea.  
  
Besides which he had the distinct feeling that a weapon that let Jack fuck them had considerably more say than one that didn't. Plus keeping Jack's impulses satisfied was better for everyone right? Maybe especially for Rhys?  
  
Really, if he enjoyed it all including the blood, torture, and murder what did it matter?  
  
The sirens jaw clenched as Jack reached around Rhys to press one finger none to gently into her elbow.  
  
"See what I mean pumpkin, you do this slowly and it's so much better."  
  
Rhys nodded and bit his lip as he considered how to proceed, Jack's hot breath at his neck was making it all the harder to concentrate.  
  
A large hand still sticky with blood from their work on her hands wrapped around Rhys' wrist and urged him to twist her arm further.  
  
Rhys didn't even bother trying to suppress the pleased noise that escaped his throat when Maya twitched obviously in pain.  
  
"Arm doesn't look good, does it?" Jack chuckled.  
  
He nodded in agreement with the assessment, her arm was bruising rapidly and it now stuck out at a normally impossible to achieve angle.  
  
"Let's see, we could make the other one match," Jack hummed as though considering it, "or we could just cut it off I suppose, what do you think cupcake?"  
  
Rhys studied her carefully, tilting his head and drawing the moment out. She was too calm, almost seeming resigned to whatever fate they had in mind for her.  
  
"Losing a limb can be easily repaired," Rhys pointed out holding up his chrome arm as an example.  
  
Jack smiled, "true, so very true, what we need is something permanent," the masked man casually dislocated her other elbow as he spoke.  
  
Her shout of pained surprise was short lived and Rhys was almost shocked to find himself craving more.  
  
"Oh, I've got it," the grin now spreading across Jack's face was manic, "hold her head still for me Rhysie, I want to get this just right."  
  
Rhys leaned over the siren and held her skull firmly between his hands. Jack in the meantime was approaching with a small soldering iron.  
  
"Try not to bite your tongue off," he suggested to the siren, and then he leaned over her with a wicked gleam in his eyes.  
  
It took Rhys a moment to realize he wasn't simply burning her, he was writing something.  
  
It was harder than he expected to hold the woman's head still but he managed for long enough that Jack could finish. Maya herself had finally begun to panic during the process and had tried more than once to jerk her head away from the iron.  
  
"Well what do you think?" The older man asked like he had just finished painting a masterpiece.  
  
Rhys stood and came around to look at her properly, the word ' _BANDIT_ ' was emblazoned across her forehead and ' _CHILD KILLER_ ' had been burned across her cheeks.  
  
"Definite improvement," he affirmed faking a smile, in all honesty Rhys felt unsettled at the severity of the cruelty. But as Jack ran a hand up Rhys' spine he found the uncomfortable feeling drained away entirely. It was fine, she'd helped kill his daughter right? She deserved it.  
  
"Don't worry psycho bitch, it's nothing that doesn't suit you," Jack assured Maya.  
  
The siren looked like she was on the edge of breaking, and really anyone that wasn't a vault hunter probably would have already broken long before. Rhys was frankly amazed she'd lasted this long.  
  
"Come on Rhysie, we'll come back when it heals up to make sure it's properly burned in." Jack motioned and Rhys immediately followed him out of the cell. "Torture is 90% psychological kiddo," Jack commented as the door clicked closed behind him, "breaking their body is great, but it's useless if you don't break their mind."  
  
"Which is why we're leaving her for now?" Rhys questioned.  
  
"Well that, and I'm tired of waiting to ruin you. Where's the nearest empty room?"  
  
A combination of excitement and fear sparked up in Rhys' stomach and the cyborg led the way down the hall to his personal on site office. Jack's office now he supposed.  
  
As soon as the door clicked closed Jack was pressing him into a wall, "shoulda seen the way your eyes lit up when she screamed pumpkin," he groaned the words into Rhys' neck and then bit down sharply.  
  
A low moan rose from Rhys' gut and he was grinding against Jack as the older man rapidly began divesting him of his clothes.  
  
“Never would have guessed what a vicious little shit you are Rhysie,” Jack pressed back in and bit his lip, “my violent secret weapon.”  
  
The fact that Jack kept referring to him like he was an object that he was particularly fond of really shouldn't be turning Rhys on, and yet here he was already so turned on he felt like he might claw his own eyes out.  
  
Just as the CEO threw Rhys' vest to the floor an urgent echo alert flashed across Rhys' eye and Jack's echo comm started ringing, the ringtone indicated it was an emergency call.  
  
Jack snarled and fished the echo comm out of his pocket, "this had better be the most god-damned urgent emergency in the universe or I will pull out your vocal cords and use them to strangle you."  
  
"Sir, it's the Hollow Point mine, we're under attack, and we're losing."  
  
“Dammit,” Jack turned it off without another word and leaned his forehead into Rhys' shoulder, "why is everyone incompetent cupcake?"  
  
Rhys ran a hand across his face now officially frustrated in every way he possibly could be, "their basically NPCs, I don't think they can help it."  
  
The masked man snorted at Rhys' joke and pushed away, "get your clothes back on pumpkin, I'll fuck you into a desk after we kill the bandits."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A good chunk of this was written while high on cold medicine and it's all edited while high on cold medicine. I hate being sick. I hate that cold medicine makes me loopy as fuck. Seriously this is why I don't get high on purpose, it's like I'm suddenly slowly and dumber and am frustratingly aware of my brand new limitations. At least when I'm drunk I still think I'm smart. So, sorry if this is weirdly written or the grammar is terrible, I'm functioning at about a third of my regular capacity at the moment. 
> 
> In case anyone is curious Éiteag is supposed to the the sprite of Loch Etive which is a sea loch in Scotland. Her name means ‘the little foul/horrid one.’ Felt like it fit, and yeah according to my googling 'shee-ant' is seriously how you pronounce it.
> 
> Also thanks Rhys, never had to find so many ways to describe someone blushing before.
> 
> Oh and for the torture stuff I have to thank my roommate again for explaining what won't kill people, apparently most of my initial ideas for torturing someone would kill the fuck out of them. The words on the face thing I straight up pinched from the Goblins webcomic which uh...read it if you want to be horrified and depressed about goblins. 
> 
> Please toss me a comment if you've got the time!


	18. Act Two // Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Rev 22:20 (By, Puscifer)
> 
> (My originally planned music for this chapter got swapped with a later chapter because it will fit better and some of the tone has changed since I started writing this, so the playlist I have on tumblr is now slightly wrong. Whoops.)

_"Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely,_  
_absolute power attracts the corruptible."_  
  - Frank Herbert

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Four**

* * *

  
  
Jack was a lot more hands on than Rhys preferred. Generally when a matter called for a shoot out Rhys sent in the soldiers and sat back. No reason to get personally involved. Not that Jack planned on having them charge in at the front, far from. But he'd told Rhys this device was too important to let someone else fuck it up.  
  
Their shuttle settled down just outside of the war-zone that had erupted at the ruins of Hollow Point.  
  
Jack was wearing that malicious grin again, the one that spoke of adrenaline and violence. "You weren't kidding in your journal about the size of that explosion cupcake," his mismatched eyes settled on Rhys, "I like what you've done with the place."  
  
"So you did read them." A statement, not a question. Rhys had suspected Jack would be curious and leaving it unlocked with an alert seemed like an easy way to let the man know what had happened. But he hadn't been sure if Jack would actually bother reading the whole thing.  
  
The CEO snorted as he swept to his feet, "I was bored."  
  
Rhys stood as well checking his shield one last time before following Jack off the shuttle.  
  
"Oh and that auto targeting shits gotta go," Jack tapped one hand against the holster on Rhys' leg, "when we get back up to the station you're learning how to aim."  
  
"I think with the cybernetics and the gun I compensate-" Rhys was cut off as Jack stopped and pressed one hand over his mouth.  
  
His voice was aggravated when he spoke, "when I say you're doing something Rhysie, you're doing it. I don't know how you've been so damned stupid as to let it slip, but you need to be able to aim a weapon. You're going to be aiming the biggest weapon in the universe for me at multiple people at the same time, and I'm going to be pretty pissed off if you miss."  
  
Rhys' mouth rounded in a silent 'oh' and Jack rolled his eyes.  
  
With a light cuff to the side of his head Jack turned and continued walking towards the shoot out, "you're lucky you're pretty kiddo because sometimes you're as dumb as a skag."  
  
Rhys scowled, he really hadn't missed the insults, and realistically neither of them were sure if Rhys would even have to aim the weapon at all. But now also wasn't the time for an argument over his wounded pride. They were approaching the battle.  
  
The new arrival of new Atlas soldiers was rapidly turning the fight in their favour, but the battle still raged on.  
  
The attackers had been large in number but their gear was obviously substandard. He'd initially assumed from the call that it had been some bandit gang or psychos. But bandits would have given up by now, people only in it for the money rarely fought to the death if they could run, and they definitely weren't psychos.  
  
Jack waded into the battle like he was made for it, glorious, exalting in his own power and laughing like a maniac, Rhys nearly forgot what he was supposed to be doing as his breath caught in his throat at the sight. A bullet whizzing past his skull reminded him very quickly and he ducked down behind some rubble.  
  
While Jack certainly seemed to be enjoying himself this was the opposite of what Rhys would consider a good time. Battles were messy, chaotic, and uncontrolled. Like Jack he supposed.  
  
With a deep sigh he peeked up over the rubble and took aim. His echo eye flickered as it focused in on the closest target. Breath. Auto targeting engaged. Trigger. Bang. The woman he'd been aiming at collapsed like a rag doll.  
  
The fight was over within the next five minutes, the remainder of the attackers surrendering. It was foolish. They should have run. There were six of them left total out of what Rhys estimated to have originally been at least fifty attackers.  
  
Jack was already standing over his literally captive audience with a cruel smile playing across his features.  
  
"-do what you will with the rest of us just let him go, we never should have let him come," one of the prisoners was begging as Rhys approached and he had to stifle the urge to roll his eyes. They were only going to egg Jack on in whatever game he had in store for them. Hadn't they heard the stories? Seen the vids? Handsome Jack had never been subtle about anything he'd done.  
  
"Hey pumpkin," Jack smirked as he came to stand next to him, "this bandit here thinks I should spare his kid."  
  
Analysing the prisoners with his echo eye he quickly found any information about them on the echo-net. Local militia, they were average Pandorans who'd signed up to help the Crimson Raiders in their endeavours. True to the captive's word, the youngest of their party was his son. Just sixteen years old. It was a pity really. Sixteen was very young to die.  
  
Rhys raised one eyebrow, "his kid who shot at us?"  
  
Jack chuckled obviously pleased with the response, "you know, you're right Rhysie, he did shoot at us."  
  
"He didn't know better," the father raised his arms in a pleading gesture.  
  
Jack posed as though considering the man's words, "I'll tell you what, I promise I won't kill your precious little brat."  
  
"Thank-" the father started with tears brimming at his eyes.  
  
Jack interrupted his speech and leaned down grabbing the man by his chin. "Shut up. I said _I_ wouldn't kill your bandit brat, but Rhys here is gonna do it for me. Nice and slow."  
  
The man actually howled a “no” like some movie character and was now sobbing into the dirt, Jack giggled and backhanded the man.  
  
There it was. The insanely unnecessary cruelty. They didn't even know these people, and while no Rhys absolutely would not have let them live. If they were doing it his way it would have been fast, clean. No reason to make something impersonal so gruesome.  
  
One glance at Jack made it very clear any mercy on Rhys' part wouldn't be appreciated. Not now, not here where such protests would undermine his authority.  
  
"We're going to start your target practice early cupcake, come here, and don't you dare use your cybernetics to give you an edge," Jack motioned at the space directly in front of him and when Rhys didn't move fast enough he literally dragged him into position.  
  
Jack had two of the soldiers pull the kid away from the others and then they tied him down to some nearby rubble so he was splayed out like a starfish. The kid was crying and panicking; all while his father was desperately lying and telling his son it would all be okay.  
  
Jack pulled out his personal Hyperion brand pistol and handed to Rhys. The younger man taking it with what he hoped came off as a casual lack of concern.  
  
"Alright, let's start with his left foot," Jack motioned.  
  
Rhys aimed down the sights and frowned, he thought he was probably pretty close.  
  
Jack snorted, "well I'm already seeing six problems, who taught you to shoot a gun?"  
  
Rhys coughed awkwardly, "echo-vids."  
  
The cyborg heard an exasperated sigh behind him and then Jack was wrapping his arms around Rhys, forcing him to shift his stance. Jack nipped at his throat as he pulled away and Rhys felt himself going red. The younger man heard one of the soldiers clear their throat uncomfortably, and he couldn't bring himself to look over into whatever judging look was being thrown his way.  
  
"Alright now aim," Jack urged him still close behind.  
  
Rhys aimed again, and he found he felt more confident about the shot now, breathe in, trigger and exhale. The shot went slightly wide, but not as badly as he'd thought it would. The bullet ripping through the side of the kids ankle.  
  
The scream it elicited pulled him back to reality. Right. Living target.  
  
"Close, alright right foot," Jack sounded excited and Rhys aimed again.  
  
His stomach was threatening to rebel, the smell of the dead from the battle roasting in the Pandoran sun only adding to the issue. But under it all a small thrill ran through him.  
  
Another bullet, closer this time, he'd blown off two of the kids toes.  
  
"That's it pumpkin," Jack walked forward into Rhys' peripheral vision, "how about left hand."  
  
They proceeded that way, Jack naming body parts circling closer and closer to centre mass, and Rhys taking shots, until finally the kid bled out on the desert floor. The fathers sobs had become harsh gasps as he curled in on himself.  
  
Rhys knew he should feel guilt. Normally he would have felt guilt, he was fairly sure...but there was something about Jack that made it far too easy to let go of those ideas. What the hell was wrong with him?  
  
The CEO himself was currently running one hand along Rhys' neck and whispering in his ear, "my pretty ruthless weapon, make me want to take you right here in front of all these people."  
  
Rhys jolted and turned to look at the man in slight shock.  
  
Jack just laughed and then turned to the nearest soldier, "well enough of this, Rhysie and me have places to be, so kill the prisoners and clean up this mess. I want the mine back up and running in an hour."  
  
"Yes Sir," the soldier saluted.  
  
Gun fire rang out behind them as Jack practically dragged Rhys along behind him towards the mining office.  
  
The mine overseer looked shocked when they entered her office, "sir I didn't realise you'd bother personally-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah - we're damn heroes, now skedaddle lady I'm using your office, you can come back when we leave."  
  
To her credit she simply nodded, grabbed her echo comm, and left the building.  
  
The office door clicked as it was locked and then Jack was on him, slamming Rhys back onto the desk; almost more of a fight move than a prelude to sex.  
  
Jack pressed the younger man into a kiss, it was all rough edges and fire. Rhys felt like he might burn up before they ever got to anything further.  
  
He distinctly heard his jacket tear as Jack ripped it off but in spite of the expensive material he couldn't bring himself to care. Rhys reached up fisting one hand into the back of Jack's hair and pulling him closer as he wrapped his legs around the older man's waist.  
  
He felt a smile under his lips and then Jack was grinding forward and Rhys couldn't help but let loose a long groan at the contact. He'd had one night stands since Sasha of course, but they'd been few and far between, being a CEO kept you busy. Jack pulled back long enough to pull his own shirt and sweater off over his head in one smooth movement, "you _are_ loud."  
  
Rhys moved to prop himself forward on his elbows eyes scanning over the CEO's torso, his muscles had obviously been built by real action and several scars stood out prominently along his chest. He didn't have long to look though because Jack shoved him back against the desk with a thud and yanked his shirt off. The older man's head tilted with a pleased smile and he lunged in, biting down on Rhys' throat again, this time harder. His head rang from when it had hit the desk and his neck now stung, but as Jack ground his hips forward again Rhys realized he didn't think he'd ever been this turned on before in his entire life.  
  
The clink of a belt buckle was followed by Jack roughly flipping Rhys onto his front and so that he was bent over the desk.  
  
"Give me your arms," Jack hissed in his ear.  
  
He didn't even think, just did as he was told. He felt the older man carefully fold them behind his back so his hands touched his elbows, and then he felt the leather of Jack's belt wrapping around them and securing them in place.  
  
Jack leaned forward tongue trailing up Rhys' spine, "you look so good like this pumpkin, my personal fuck-toy. And you're loving it too aren't you," he growled into the younger man's ear, "what a slut."  
  
His pants and boxers were suddenly dropped to his ankles and he could feel Jack's hand run along to his entrance. "Shit cupcake, when's the last time you had sex?"  
  
"This way?” Rhys groaned trying to focus, “before Helios went down?"  
  
Jack hummed as though considering something and then he heard the crackle of a package. Moments later one of Jacks fingers pushed less then gently at his rim, the still slightly cool lubricant smoothing the process somewhat as his finger pushed past the ring of muscle. Jack's other hand had slipped around Rhys' body to play teasingly with his hard length.  
  
He moved surprisingly slow, fucking in and out with just the one finger until Rhys let out a small whimper of frustration and shifted his hips in an attempt to get more from either hand.  
  
Jack chuckled lowly and then pushed in a second finger stretching and scissoring with slightly more urgency.  
  
The older man leaned forward and spoke directly in his ear, "you enjoyed it, didn't you? Shooting that bandit kid." His voice was low, "did it make you feel powerful when he screamed? I bet it did. Because you're just like me Rhysie."  
  
Rhys moaned, he couldn't help it, because dammit yes, it had been a power trip, and as much as he wanted to blame it all on Jack he couldn't. There was just something about holding someone else's life in your hands and then taking it away that made him feel complete. Maybe he was a monster? But really in that moment it didn't matter at all; if this was what it got him, it had all been worth it.  
  
Jack's fingers slipped from him and he heard the crackle of another package of lubricant being opened.  
  
One of Jacks hands wrapped around Rhys' belted arms while he used the other to position himself behind Rhys. He started with a slow shallow thrust before pulling himself back out and pausing. Frustration had the younger man flexing his hands against the bindings and he could practically hear Jack smirking.  
  
“Use your words Rhysie,” he encouraged smugly.  
  
“If you don't start fucking me Jack I swear to fucking god I will end you,” Rhys snarled.  
  
“Oh you could try cupcake, might be fun,” he tapped one finger on the belt binding his COO's arms, “but if you figure out how to be polite we can skip trying to murder each other for now.”  
  
He wasn't saying it, there was no way...Jack pushed in for another shallow thrust, and that was it, “please,” his voice crackled with desperation and suddenly the older man was slamming all the way into him.  
  
Jack let out a groan and Rhys felt his heart rate pick up at the sound, "wanted to do this to you since I read what you did to muscles."  
  
The older man began thrusting in and out at a brutal pace using Rhys' arms to tug himself back in again and again. His flesh arm was going numb behind his back but he couldn't bring himself to care.  
  
"Knew I had to own you right then," Jack accented this comment with a particularly hard thrust, "every single part of you."  
  
Rhys knew his moans were just getting louder with each passing moment and he briefly wondered if people could hear them outside of the office.  
  
Suddenly Jack pulled out and the younger man found himself crying out at the loss. He'd been so close.  
  
A low chuckle sounded behind him and then the older man pushed him over onto his back, Rhys' hands impacting with the desk sent sharp pins and needles up his arm.  
  
Jack had the same vicious glee on his face that Rhys had seen on the battlefield as he leaned forward to tease at the younger man's entrance again, "tell me what you are Rhysie."  
  
Rhys sucked in a breath and focused his eyes, he knew what Jack wanted, "a weapon."  
  
"And?" Jack ran one hand along Rhys' cock.  
  
"A fuck-toy," he gasped out.  
  
"That's right," Jack grinned, thrusting forward, "and who do you belong to?"  
  
"You," Jack slammed forward resuming his brutal pace on that word, "I belong to you, just you Jack."  
  
Rhys said the words like a prayer and Jack's eyes flared with something Rhys couldn't quite decipher. The older man reached down and wrapped his hand around Rhys' erection.  
  
And that was it, he was gone, shuddering as the orgasm passed over his whole body in an intense wave. Jack had apparently followed him over the edge as the man had stopped moving and was leaned forward over top of him with a long groan.  
  
After a few minutes of silence pressed against each other Jack bit down sharply on Rhys' neck again before standing up, "get cleaned up, we got places to be."  
  
With some difficulty Rhys managed to sit up, "hard to do with no arms."  
  
Jack turned and ran his eyes over the younger man with blatant lust, "you do look good this way though, maybe I leave you like this hmm? Drag you out in front of the soldiers in nothing but my belt?"  
  
Rhys blanched and Jack chuckled undoing the clasp with one hand; pain shot down his arm as he moved it finally and the cyborg let out a hiss. "Where are we going?" Rhys questioned as he searched for his clothes.  
  
Jack grinned, "back up to the station first."  
  
"And then?"  
  
"And then we need to-" a panicked shout came from outside and Jack peered through the blinds before letting out a long sigh, "or they'll just come to us."  
  
"Who?"  
  
Jack grimly strapped his gun back to his side, "vault hunters."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. Wrote a sex scene. This is only the second sex scene I've ever written, (I'm fairly confident this one is much better) but please tell me how it went. I did what might potentially be considered ridiculous amounts of research into how sex works between two guys just so I could write this. I'm super hoping that paid off and it doesn't come off awkward, weird, or inaccurate. 
> 
> There is a moodboard for this chapter [here.](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/159034692968/moodboard-for-bitter-end-act-two-chapter-four)
> 
> Next chapter should be up Tuesday morning at the latest! 
> 
> As always I love to hear your comments so if you've got time please do let me know what you think!


	19. Act Two // Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Killing Time (By, Infected Mushroom)

_“Some people use power, whilst there are some who let power use them.”_  
-Moffat Machingura

 

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Five**

* * *

  
  
Jack stepped out of the office while still buckling the last clasp of his vest, “you know, I don't show up at your mining operations unannounced.”  
  
The Atlas soldiers were in a stand off with the remaining Crimson Raiders and four vault hunters, guns pointing in every direction. A powder keg of violence set primed to go off, the air was electric, invigorating. At least his first day of finally being alive again wasn't boring.  
  
Hat girl stood opposite him with her hands on her hips and a scowl twisting her lips, next to her was Mordecai, Brick, and Timothy. Jack grinned at the sight of his doppelganger, he had thought he'd have to lure the moron out of hiding. But no, he'd actually been dumb enough to confront him.  
  
Glancing to his side he found Rhys glaring daggers across at hat girl. There was definitely some gut deep hatred there. Jack resolved to let Rhys murder her personally when the time came. A gift if the twerp did well.  
  
"What did you do with Lillith and Maya?" Fiona dead panned.  
  
Jack completely ignored her and took a step forward, "Timtam, the beard looks good, but really anything would on that handsome mug," he dropped the light tone and let his voice go deep with anger, "but it's definitely outside of your contract. Isn't it?"  
  
Tim shrank back slightly before clearing his throat and standing up straighter. Yeah he still had it, and that little nerd was either coming back into the fold for some re-training, or he was dying.  
  
"Either you tell us where Lillith and Maya are, or we beat it out of you," hat girl declared while stepping in front of Tim. She settled a laser focused glare on Jack with a clear message to leave Tim alone. Well wasn't that just adorable, he'd made friends.  
  
"Yeah," Brick enthused, “so get talking!”  
  
He could hear a long suffering sigh escape Rhys and Jack chuckled, "I know cupcake, not the sharpest tools in the shed are they?"  
  
"They're not gonna tell us anything," Mordecai cocked his rifle, "lets just put down Jack again and then make Rhys tell us what he knows."  
  
Put him down again. Oh. That definitely smarted.  
  
"You're going to regret that bird boy,” Jack pressed one finger to his lips as though he'd just remembered something, “oh well, ex-bird boy I guess given Bloodwing did explode."  
  
An enraged snarl came from Mordecai and he was running forward like he intended to rip Jack apart with his bare hands.  
  
"Too slow," he laughed turning his cloaking device on as he side stepped. He heard Rhys swear and then soldiers on both sides started unloading their weapons.  
  
Jack's eyes locked on his doppelganger, Tim was starting to look like he might just try running, he had his gun out and had even fired a few rounds, but his eyes were darting left and right. Too bad he had no idea where Jack was, it was going to make running from him hard.  
  
It was far too easy to sneak up behind the man and lock his arms around his throat to drag him back to the edge of the battle.  
  
"Getting slow kiddo," Jack scolded, "someone's been lazy with their training."  
  
Panic surged behind his doppelganger's eyes for a moment before he sucked in a deep breath and his jaw clenched, "don't worry so much about me when you should be worrying about your new lackey."  
  
Jack raised his head and focused on Rhys. The thin man had somehow ended up sitting on the ground staring up uncertainly at Fiona. Great. The cyborg apparently couldn't go two seconds without needing rescued.

* * *

  
  
Rhys swore as Jack vanished and Mordecai came to a halt only a few feet away. Not good.  
  
He activated his echo eye to quickly send the alert to the Atlas soldiers to attack and then backed away from the ensuing chaos.  
  
Today was getting to a point of overwhelming Rhys hadn't experienced since first landing on Pandora, and he was finding that he really had not missed that either. It was too much for one day, in particular directly after sex, and Rhys really just wanted to go to sleep, was that too much to ask?  
  
"You piece of corporate filth," a snarl came from his left and he turned his head just in time to watch Fiona slam into him, "I wish I had shoved you out of the caravan the day I met you!"  
  
Rhys swung with his cybernetic arm and caught her in the side, "getting in close was not smart Fiona."  
  
She let out a pained gasp, but she hadn't stopped moving, her leg came up and she kneed him in the stomach. Rhys dropped next to the pile of debris he'd been considering using for cover with an involuntary sharp exhale. Well, he'd bragged _way_ too soon apparently.  
  
A click sounded from in front of him and his head snapped up to focus on Fiona, she had her gun out and pointed at his head, "where the hell are they Rhys."  
  
He rolled his eyes, and made a clicking noise with his tongue, "what are you going to do if I don't tell you? Shoot me? You shoot me, they die, it's not exactly complicated."  
  
"You're never going to give them to us anyway, and if I shoot you we're halfway to ending this."  
  
Rhys glared, would his shield take a point blank shot from her gun? He just wasn't sure. "You shoot me, you're throwing away the slim chance that you have of saving Lillith and Maya. I doubt your new buddies are going to take that so well."  
  
Fiona raised one eyebrow, "you know I think they'd understand that I'm trying to save all of us."  
  
Rhys scoffed, he needed to keep her talking, "none of you would even be in danger of being killed if you'd let me do things my way, but no you just had to stick your stupid grifter nose in my business and I had no choice but to get help."  
  
"Don't lie Rhys, you would have found some excuse eventually to bring that lunatic back," she had taken the bait, "you talk a good game Rhys, act like this is all out of your hands, like we forced you here. But you should just admit it, you wanted him back so that there would be someone around a little bit worse than you. Well guess what Rhys, you're just as bad as he is, you're a self centred manipulative psychopathic bastard, and no amount of bullshit justifications will ever change that."  
  
"Mmm, well thanks Fiona for that insightful rant. I mean I really appreciate that you can always be trusted to talk way too much," Rhys grinned and his eye flashed just as Atlas mechs started dropping to the ground.  
  
Fiona made a frustrated noise as the added firepower began to drive Mordecai and Brick back, she pursed her lips and then a grin split her face. Rhys had just enough time to wonder what the hell she might be grinning at when she brought the butt of her pistol down on his temple.

 

* * *

  
  
And now hat girl had knocked the moron out, Jack sighed - well at least Rhys had managed to call in the mechs. Mordecai and Brick didn't look like they were doing particularly well but they had managed to make their way towards Fiona who had one very unconscious cyborg.  
  
"Better go get him Jack," Tim said squirming against his hold, "because I doubt next time they'll hold a big open trial for him."  
  
"What makes you think I care?"  
  
Tim laughed, "he must have something you want, or why rescue him in the first place?"  
  
It annoyed him that his doppelganger was right, it pissed him off that Rhys was absolutely useless in a fight, and the fact that these vault hunters would get away was an anger beyond description.  
  
He turned off his cloaking device and hauled Tim out into the open, "hey, hat girl!"  
  
Fiona turned and immediately frowned, her eyes darting between Rhys and Tim. She already knew what he wanted, perfect.  
  
"You give me Rhys, I'll give you Timtam here. You don't give me Rhys, I bring this idiot back up to the station with me and put him through training again. What do you think Tim, think you can make it out alive a second time?”  
  
He could feel his doppelganger stiffen against him and he could almost smell the terror coming off him.  
  
Fiona looked torn until Mordecai clapped her on the arm, "well get them later. We save our own now."  
  
"Fine," hat girl decided, allowing an Atlas soldier walk over to Rhys, albeit at gun point, "now let Tim go."  
  
"How do I know you won't just shoot that guy and take Rhys back?"  
  
"Because if I did you'd just shoot Tim," she said voice flat.  
  
Jack frowned, he really didn't want to let go of his doppelganger, but fine. He'd just grab him up later, he knew who he was hanging out with now, it wouldn't be that hard.  
  
Stripping Timothy of his gun and shield Jack leaned forward one last time to hiss in his ear, "I will find you, so remember, it's all going to go so much better for you if you come back on your own."  
  
Shoving the now shaken doppelganger forward he kept his gun raised as an Atlas soldier hurried back with Rhys carried over his shoulders.  
  
As soon as Tim got back to the vault hunters Jack signalled to open fire, like he was going to play fair. But of course hat girl had a freaking flash bang. His vision flared red and he heard shouts of surprise from nearby soldiers.  
  
Once his vision had cleared he could see the vault hunters in the distance running off, well - driving off more accurately. Just like bandits to be cowards.  
  
"Get me a shuttle," Jack gritted out at the nearest soldier.  
  
"There's one just over by-" a loud bang sounded as Jack unloaded a round into the man.  
  
"I said get me a damn shuttle; the only thing out of your mouth after that should be yes Sir, not some dumb-ass excuse," the soldier he'd shot had curled into a ball on the ground, and honestly when the man only let out a small sob noise in response, it did make Jack feel slightly better. Bullet well spent.  
  
A medic nervously drew his attention with an extremely hesitant tap to his shoulder, "sir, the COO needs immediate medical attention; when he was hit it the head I think it may have jarred some of his cybernetics."  
  
"Son of a taint," he cursed, that really did not sound good, "I want a medical team ready at the station as soon as we get up there."  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
"I take it this isn't something an Anshin first aid kit can fix?"  
  
"No Sir, he'll need surgery most likely," the field medic kneeled back down next to Rhys with a frown, "the first aid kit would most likely make it worse."

* * *

  
  
Rhys' consciousness faded in and out, something was horribly wrong. His echo eye had nothing but a stream of binary, and with the extremely fuzzy vision in his other eye it took him far too long to realise he was on a cot in a shuttle.  
  
_01010000 01001111 01010100 01000101 01001110 01010100 01001001 01000001 01001100 01001100 01011001 00100000 01000110 01000001 01010100 01000001 01001100 00100000 01000101 01010010 01010010 01001111 01010010_  
  
He raised his head slightly only to feel searing hot pain like someone was stabbing him in the skull, did Fiona have him? He remembered Fiona hitting him...for some reason?  
  
"Cupcake if you don't stay still you're going to kill yourself, and then I am gonna be pissed off given all the effort I've put in. So don't move," Jack commanded from somewhere nearby.  
  
Jack right, it was fine, it would all be fine - if he died Jack would take care of everything right? Handsome Jack always took care of everything, it would all be fine. The world faded out again.  
  
_01010000 01001100 01000101 01000001 01010011 01000101 00100000 01010011 01000101 01000001 01001011 00100000 01001101 01000101 01000100 01001001 01000011 01000001 01001100 00100000 01000001 01001001 01000100_  
  
He was on some sort of gurney when the world came back and was being wheeled down a hallway. On the station? Had they made it back up? They'd been...where had they been? Everything hurt and his memory felt like it was just out of reach.  
  
A man in a lab coat leaned over him, "we're going to give you a general anaesthetic and then we'll fix you right up. Nothing to worry about."  
  
The doctor looked strained and Rhys wondered why. But before long he felt a needle at his wrist and the world was quickly fading out once again.  
  
_01000011 01001111 01001101 01001101 01000001 01001110 01000100 00100000 01000011 01001111 01000100 01000101 00100000 01000001 01000011 01010100 01001001 01010110 01000001 01010100 01000101 01000100_  
  
Rhys woke on a cot in the medical ward, he tried to reach out, only to find the uncomfortable sensation of his arm being gone, someone must have taken it off. A nearby nurse seemed to have noticed he'd woken, “Sir, good to see you awake, I'll call your doctor in.”  
  
When the doctor arrived he explained that when Fiona hit him with her gun, it had been a direct hit on his data-port, this had jarred the internal portion forwards and he had required surgery to fix the issue.  
  
He'd only been awake an hour when Jack entered with an irritated expression, “well you didn't die, so at least you managed that, barely.”  
  
“I called down the mechs,” Rhys protested.  
  
Jack just rolled his eyes, “yeah, but you got knocked out and captured, and then I had to trade Tim for you, so you are not leaving this station again until you can defend yourself cupcake, capiche?”  
  
Rhys frowned, “I wasn't exactly planning to be in the middle-”  
  
Jack's hand wrapped around his throat cutting off both oxygen and Rhys' response, “why is it that every time I tell someone to do something they start talking about shit I do not care about? What the hell happened to just saying 'yes Sir'? Hmm? Because I have no patience for these stupid excuses pumpkin.”  
  
Rhys' hand pulled weakly at Jack's wrist as the world started to go hazy and his lungs ached, finally the man let go with a sneer. His immediate instinct was to snap on the older man, but given he'd just gotten out of surgery and currently lacked his cybernetic limb Rhys decided to quash that instinct immediately. “Sorry,” it came out barely above a whisper.  
  
“What was that,” Jack grinned, “you'll have to speak louder for me cupcake.”  
  
“What? You so old you're going deaf?” Rhys almost face palmed, why did he have to say that? Why did he always put his foot in his mouth at the worst times?  
  
Jack froze for a moment, his face unyielding to the point Rhys was becoming fairly certain that this was the end for him, and then the CEO just chuckled, “oh Rhysie, you're going to wish I was deaf. Just for that little comment you're going to get the extra hard training.”  
  
“Just at the gun range, or when you're fucking me over a desk too?” He couldn't stop himself. It was like a disease.  
  
That got an actual laugh and Jack ran his hand along Rhys' throat pressing harshly at what felt like rapidly forming bruises, “both.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the new chapter kids! It hops perspectives a ton, sorry if that's off putting but I think it's pretty easy to follow. Also what is that thing is his head called? Is data-port good? I have no idea.
> 
> Please throw me a comment if you've got the time, I love hearing what you all think!


	20. Act Two // Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Mad About You - Orchestra Version (By, Hooverphonic)

_“In every pleasure, cruelty has its place...”_  
-Oscar Wilde

 

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Six**

* * *

  
  
For the first week Rhys spent in the medical ward he kept hearing static coming from his left and his cybernetic eye kept catching flashes of something just out of sight.  
  
The doctor assured him these were just side effects from having taken such a solid blow to his data port, nothing to worry about. But every time it happened an uneasy feeling set in over Rhys.  
  
Rhys' only visitor in the two weeks he'd spent in the medical wing was Rothstein who had brought work for him to do, and the cyborg found he couldn't help but think about the last time he'd been laid up in a medical ward. Sasha and Tim ensuring he didn't work, smiling at him, it was like an open wound he couldn't help poking over and over again.  
  
By the time he was released from the ward he felt like the emotional equivalent of barbed wire. He actually found himself looking forward to training in firearms and hand to hand. Something to take the edge off.  
  
Jack arrived at the ward that morning, Rhys had been halfway through buttoning his vest when the sound of someone clearing their voice drew his attention. Jack was leaned casually against the frame of the door eyes roving over him like he was a particularly delectable piece of candy.  
  
“Jack,” the younger man picked up his jacket and did his best to ignore the CEO's stare, “what can I do for you?”  
  
“We're celebrating your release cupcake,” Jack was all friendly grins and Rhys briefly wondered what exactly it was he was getting out of this. He supposed it didn't really matter in the end.  
  
“Celebrating?” Rhys questioned.  
  
“You gotta enjoy the little stuff Rhysie,” Jack grinned, “and I have just what you need to get back into the flow of things.”  
  
That had his curiosity peaked.  
  
Jack was almost bouncing as he led the younger man down the hallways, Rhys quickly realized they were headed for the detention block. They arrived at one of the cell doors and Jack entered in a password before pushing it open with one hand.  
  
Entering in Rhys found someone had rolled a portable bar into the cell off to one side, a red balloon had been attached to it with a yellow ribbon. But it was what had been placed in the centre of the cell that really had Rhys' attention.  
  
A man in a neck brace was strapped to a table struggling feebly against the restraints, a muffled sound of fear escaping his gagged mouth and Rhys heard himself let out a chuckle, “Jerry.”  
  
“I have it on good authority that the neck brace was your work cupcake,” Jack ran one hand along the back of Rhys' own neck to emphasize, “we found him in a convoy that was trying to flee the Children of Helios base, so I kept him just for you Rhysie.”  
  
Rhys ran his tongue along his lips, “quite the gift Jack.”  
  
“I knew you'd like it,” the dark enjoyment that coated the older man's words sent a pleasant shiver up the cyborg's spine.  
  
Rhys ran his hands over the various torture implements sitting on the table next to the traitorous bastard with a soft smile, “quite possibly the best gift I've ever been given.”  
  
“I'll pour the drinks if you want to start in on the entertainment,” Jack almost purred.  
  
Jerry's jerky movements became more panicked as Rhys let out a hum of indecision. The clink of ice drew his attention and he glanced up to see Jack watching him from the bar with a look in his eyes that could only be described as hunger.  
  
Rhys returned his gaze to the choices below his hands and ran one finger along the cool metal of a skinning knife. “Good choice,” Jack smiled and walked across the room to hand Rhys a glass with amber liquid, “may I suggest a tourniquet for the area first, wouldn't want your gift dying too early, now would we.”  
  
Pleasure coiled in Rhys' stomach at those words and he plucked up a tourniquet with one hand, “no we don't.”  
  
Jack's free hand drifted down Rhys' spine before settling at the small of his back as he leaned over their 'patient,' “he kept telling the guards that his little friends would come save him, guess they must've gotten held up.”  
  
Jerry was making a high pitched screeching noise behind the gag and Rhys gave the man a dark smile, “I'm so glad we get to finish our conversation Jerry, I was pretty mad when you didn't die in that cell, but you know I've got to say, I'm really glad you survived.”  
  
He wrapped the tourniquet around Jerry's upper arm and pulled tight before picking up the skinning knife. The blood welling up behind the trail of the blade along the man's forearm was like a drug, the best high available. All of his senses tingled and judging by the sharp intake of breath next to him, he wasn't the only one enjoying himself.  
  
“You're something else aren't ya cupcake,” Jack murmured hand running back up to Rhys' neck as he spoke, “never would have thought that scrawny kid that almost died on Pandora would have it in him, but look at you now.”

 

* * *

  
  
_Two Weeks Later_  
  
Rhys moaned as Jack slammed back into him, he had the younger man pressed over a desk height filing cabinet in his office. The sharp metal edges couldn't feel nice against the cyborg's back, but he didn't seem to care. Far too gone in the brutal pace Jack had set to notice much of anything. His cybernetic limb had actually dented the cabinet with the force he was gripping onto the thing.  
  
Jack had figured it would be fun to fuck the living daylights out of the man once or twice, but he was proving to be even more entertaining than Jack had initially thought. This was now the tenth time in the two weeks since Rhys had gotten out of the med wing, and honestly he didn't see himself tiring of his new toy anytime soon. The younger man was vicious, cruel, and while he was a little mouthy at times he'd yet to turn down a single order from Jack.  
  
He particularly enjoyed how incredibly out of it Rhysie got during sex, even when he was in pain. Perhaps especially when he was in pain. Jack was more then a little curious about how far he could push that.  
  
No time like the present he supposed, he dragged one hand up the younger man's chest stopping very briefly to push at the metal plate above the COO's heart that covered the cybernetics connected to the eridian device. Tapping at it will a small hum he moved on and sharply wrapped his hand around Rhys' throat.  
  
There was a small jolt beneath him and a vaguely panicked expression chased itself across his face.  
  
"If you let go of that cabinet cupcake, I'm going to make you regret it," Jack's voice came out low with a slight rumble.  
  
A small frown twisted his lips but the look vanished as soon as the CEO moved his hips forward with a particularly aggressive thrust, Rhys gave a quick nod and let loose a panted "Jack."  
  
Taking that as consent Jack pressed down expertly on the slim man's throat, he was rewarded with a wheezed whine and the younger man's muscles clenching around his cock.  
  
Fuck did that feel good, Jack didn't let up until the man's face had turned red and he was gasping desperately for air.  
  
"Oh fuck," Rhys rasped out as he finally let go and just like that the younger man was cumming across his stomach without Jack ever going near his dick. Someone apparently enjoyed being strangled. Jack might have laughed but he was too close.  
  
Rhys let out a choked whimper obviously uncomfortable as Jack continued to push into him, brushing past his overstimulated prostate with every stroke.  
  
Jack was almost tempted to continue just to hear that noise, but the pathetic noise had done it for him and he found himself leaned forward gripping onto Rhys' arms as the orgasm shot through him.  
  
With a satisfied sigh Jack pulled out and slumped into his office chair. Yup, he was keeping the murderous little shit, he was proving to be way more fun than Jack could have anticipated.  
  
Speaking of murderous. His eyes drifted over to Rhys who still hadn't bothered moving off the filing cabinet where he was splayed out in an utterly debauched position that definitely would have had Jack hard if he hadn't just gotten off.  
  
"So, shot your firearms instructor this morning I heard," Jack commented watching the younger man.  
  
Rhys rolled his eyes, "I was late because of a meeting and he tried to berate me for it."  
  
Jack chuckled, "and last week you snapped your hand to hand trainer's neck."  
  
The younger man sniffed dismissively as he sat up slightly with a groan, "she insulted me, besides she can't have been that good at combat if I killed her."  
  
"From what I saw on the camera footage you had a slight advantage on her cupcake."  
  
Rhys cracked an almost embarrassed smile and shrugged, "still."  
  
Jack had gone to see what had happened after he'd gotten the report; the trainer had shouted something at Rhys about being a mommy's boy and the man had turned red with rage. The moment the trainers back turned the cyborg had gone in for the kill, slamming the muscular woman's head into the nearby wall and then wrapping his cybernetic hand around her throat.  
  
"Listen Pumpkin, I don't give a shit if you kill thirty trainers, but if you kill one you gotta let me know so I can replace them."  
  
Rhys titled his head, and then nodded, "fair enough."  
  
"Now get out of my office, I got work to do," Jack motioned with one hand.  
  
Rhys snorted but stood and stretched his arms over his head as he moved to find his clothes. The younger man let out an exasperated sigh as he encountered his boxers on the opposite side of the office from his pants and Jack just smirked. That had been on purpose.  
  
Once Rhys had pulled on his clothing he headed towards the door before pausing there for a moment, "don't forget about those reports I had your PA bring you Jack, none of those projects can move forward without your approval."  
  
"Yeah yeah," Jack waved the man out of the room. Rhys had originally come to his office to see what the hold up was on the projects getting his approval.  
  
After the younger man left Jack pulled himself to his feet and walked into his personal washroom to clean up.  
  
The angry red scars across the lower right side of his ribcage caught his gaze in the mirror and he found himself pausing to stare at them for what was far from the first time.  
  
That was where Lillith had shot him, that was the wound he'd died from, and he couldn't quite decide how to feel about the network criss-crossing his skin. Another scar from Lillith, another permanent reminder of everything that bitch had done, and yet also a reminder that he had outdone death itself. That even this hadn't stopped him.  
  
Jack pulled on a new shirt with a huff and turned to grab at the rest of the spare clothing he'd started keeping in the bathroom. He supposed he'd look at the projects Rhys had been bugging him about. He was also going to have to hire some tougher trainers.

* * *

  
  
Rhys returned to his own office sore and tired. His secretary did a double take when he approached before lowering her eyes, and Rothstein none too subtly raised an eyebrow when he entered the office proper.  
  
"You'll be wanting a scarf Sir," his PA said tone utterly neutral.  
  
Rhys' hand shot to his throat almost unconsciously before he forced his arm down. "Thank you," he forced out, "what do I have this afternoon?"  
  
Rothstein straightened his back obviously more comfortable moving past the marks on his employers throat, "you have a meeting with the chemistry department in RM, then engineering wanted to talk to you about the auto-aim gun, and Handsome Jack just added a hand to hand lesson with a new trainer to your schedule."  
  
Rhys sighed and nodded, "move both meetings to my office, they can come to me."  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
Rhys entered into his office and headed over to his attached bathroom, Rothstein's expression made a lot more sense once he saw himself. He looked absolutely wrecked, his clothing haphazardly pulled on, hair a barely smoothed mess, bruises littering his throat, and there was a particularly vivid bite mark inside the circle of his neck tattoo.  
  
He would definitely need a scarf.  
  
The first meeting of the afternoon went smoothly, the second however Jack showed up at.  
  
Rhys was listening to the head of engineering explaining the complications they'd run into when Jack walked in.  
  
The engineer had stopped speaking immediately, eyes widening as he watched Jack like a squirrel would watch a mountain lion.  
  
Rhys sighed and snapped his fingers, "continue."  
  
"I uh...yes Sir," the man took a shaky breath and Jack grinned like a shark. "As I was saying, the friend from foe program just doesn't work properly without cybernetics to communicate with...so we may have to simplify it somewhat."  
  
"We can't just have both options available for the user?" Rhys asked, Jack had worked his way around to behind his chair and the younger man had to work very hard to not turn to look.  
  
"Well I suppose but we thought that might over complicate things for the customer," the man explained.  
  
"Do you think our customers are so dumb they can't figure out a switch?" Jack interrupted.  
  
"I uhm, no Sir?" The department head squeaked.  
  
Jack scoffed and Rhys felt one hand grip his shoulder, "you don't seem sure. That your final answer champ?"  
  
The CEO was obviously playing with the man and Rhys let out an irritated noise only to feel one of Jacks fingers reach out from his shoulder to tug none too gently on the scarf. Rhys felt his cheeks flare with a blush and heard Jack snicker from behind him.  
  
The department head meanwhile hadn't noticed the exchange at all and had in fact devolved into small whining platitudes and uncertain apologies.  
  
"Alright enough," Jack snapped, "go fix it the way Rhys wants it and stop grovelling, you look like a dumbass."  
  
"Yes Sir," the department head actually started an awkward bow before stopping himself and full blown running from the room.  
  
Jack started laughing and Rhys finally turned to view the man, "so bored you had to come terrify that man?"  
  
The older man's eyes narrowed and Rhys immediately sensed that he'd taken a misstep somehow.  
  
"You too busy for me Rhysie?" The tone was pleasant on the surface but there was an undercurrent of irritation.  
  
"No, but I had meant to more thoroughly discuss options for the auto-aim line," Rhys was careful to keep his voice neutral.  
  
The CEO rolled his eyes, "no wonder your meetings take so long cupcake; people want options, you know that, I know that - what some stupid little department head thinks doesn't matter."  
  
Rhys just nodded unwilling to get into an argument he wouldn't win, it was better to just agree where Jack was concerned.  
  
Jack smiled and tugged on the scarf again, the material rubbed across the bruises and Rhys unintentionally let out a small noise in response to the renewed pain. The smile on the other man's face broke into a grin, "I came to talk to you about your new training regiment."  
  
Rhys sighed, "my PA did notify me."  
  
Jack yanked slightly harder on the scarf, "your new trainers are tougher, and they're going to kick your ass pumpkin, but you're not going to kill either of them. In three weeks we're going down to take care of every bandit left scrambling over the ruins of Helios, and if you're not ready by then, I'm going to be pissed off," the older man finally let go of the fabric, "don't disappoint me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me sooooo long to write. It just really didn't want to be written for some reason. I'm sure there are errors I'm missing. But I'm tired and I said it would be out today. So I'm posting it, I'll do further editing later. Hopefully there isn't any particularly tragic typo that I've missed.
> 
> Aaaand a big thanks to regsregis for waaay back in Act One Chapter Six suggesting more scarring for Jack. 
> 
> Oh and [here's](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/159342380593/act-two-chapter-six-bitter-end-moodboard-in) a moodboard for this chapter. I'm really enjoying putting these together lately.
> 
> Toss me a comment if you've got the time!
> 
> Oh and uh, PSA - remember if you or your partner want to expirament with erotic asphyxiation - discuss it before sex and don't just up and go for it during sex. Don't be a Handsome Jack. ;)


	21. Act Two // Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Shut Up When You're Talking To Me (By, Lord Of The Lost)

_"I wear the chain I forged in life,_  
_I made it link by link, and yard by yard;_  
_I girded it on of my own free will,_  
_and of my own free will I wore it.”_  
\- Charles Dickens

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Seven**

* * *

  
  
Three weeks of hard training combined with constant rough sex had Rhys exhausted and sore all over. But he did feel healthier than he'd ever felt in his entire life. The ache in his muscles was almost pleasant.  
  
"Just pick a shield pumpkin," Jack snapped obviously growing impatient.  
  
Rhys sighed and lifted up the one with the fastest recharge rate. It's not as though he would really need it, or so he hoped. They were going in last after the soldiers and mechs.  
  
He felt anxious, on edge, the idea of seeing Vaughn and the others again had him somewhere between eager for revenge and nervous.  
  
"Gotcha something cupcake," Jack's hand wrapped around his shoulder as the other held out a package in front of him.  
  
Rhys raised an eyebrow but quickly opened the item to unveil a handgun. Yellow (because of course it was) with the Atlas brand name etched across the cool metal.  
  
The COO turned it over carefully before raising it to look down the sights, "your new design?"  
  
"You know it," Jack sounded proud, "already outselling that auto aim thing you put out."  
  
Rhys chuckled but raised one hand in surrender as he slid the gun into the holster at his hip, "both are outselling Jacobs this month."  
  
"True," Jack grinned.  
  
A cleared throat at the door drew their attention to Jack's PA a tall thin woman who seemed to be perpetually frowning, "the shuttle is ready Sirs."  
  
"Tell em they can wait until whenever the hell I feel like showing up," Jack snarled clearly irritated with the interruption.  
  
To her credit the PA didn't even flinch, she merely nodded and closed the office door behind her.  
  
"We really should head down shouldn't we?" Rhys questioned.  
  
"Someone's excited to kill some bandit scum," Jack laughed softly, "not that I'm criticizing."  
  
Rhys fiddled with the leather clasp on his holster, "it's personal."  
  
"No need to be so nervous," Jack had a smile that spoke of hunger and death splitting his face, "it's revenge Rhysie, enjoy it."  
  
It was long past the time for uncertainty or nerves and Jack tended to have little patience for either. Forcing himself to let go of the holster Rhys summoned up every spiteful feeling he had and let it pour into his face, "oh, I plan to."  
  
"Atta boy," Jack ran a hand through the back of the younger man's hair in approval.  
  
An unsettled feeling coated in arousal flooded Rhys' core and he accidentally let a soft groan part his lips head moving with Jack's hand.  
  
"Ah, don't think we can keep em' waiting that long cupcake," Jack moved his hand away, "don't worry though, I'll be pounding you into the furniture soon as we get back up here coated in blood."  
  
Rhys felt his breath catch in the throat at the image Jack was presenting before simply nodding.

 

* * *

  
  
Jack truly enjoyed spending the shuttle trip to Pandora riling Rhys up with little touches and at least one sharp pinch. He was excited, finally an opportunity to take Rhys out and get him messy again. Battle always ramped up everything for the older man, the adrenaline, the blood, the screams as your enemies fell at your feet.  
  
It made the sex after a hundred times better.  
  
The battle was fast and desperate, the scum held up in the ruins of Helios fighting like an animal backed into a corner. But they could only last so long, especially since they'd only encountered a third of the Children of Helios at best. Had the rest somehow fled without them noticing?  
  
They still hadn't found any of the leaders either much to Jack's irritation.  
  
He was however thoroughly enjoying watching Rhys interrogate the prisoners they had found.  
  
"Where are they?" Rhys was holding up one of the 'Children of Helios' with his cybernetic limb by the front of their shirt.  
  
"I'm not telling you anything," the man's voice cracked as he spoke.  
  
With an irritated noise in the back of his throat the Rhys slammed his captive into the nearby wall with a resounding crack as the man's skull broke open. Smiling nastily at the other captives the COO pulled back and then slammed the man into the wall for a second time.  
  
One of the other two captives let out a small scream as the man's skull made an ugly crunching noise and caved in.    
  
Letting out a chuckle as Rhys casually dropped the now very dead man Jack grabbed the kid who'd screamed by the back of his shirt, "I think we have a winner Pumpkin."  
  
Rhys smiled, "of course he won't talk either."  
  
The kid let out a whimper and Jack grinned, "nah, the second one never talks, so we torture him for a bit and then see what number three thinks?"  
  
"They're in the tunnels!" The kid practically screeched and Jack rubbed at his ear with his free hand. That had been way too loud.  
  
"What tunnels?" Rhys frowned, "I never knew about any tunnels."  
  
"They were built because of you, right after you got poisoned. Mr. Vaughn said they were just in case, because you...uhm...exhibited dangerous behaviour," the kid sniffed and Jack realized somewhat belatedly that the boy was actually crying.  
  
Snickering slightly he dropped the kid and stood up straight, "well it's your lucky day kiddo, you get to live as long as you lead us to these tunnels."  
  
"I..." The boy bit his lip and teared up more, "okay."  
  
"Do me a solid and shoot the spare Rhysie," Jack said motioning for a soldier to haul the kid to his feet.  
  
Rhys didn't even blink, just pulled his gun and fired into the third captive's head, perfect.  
  
The kid led them lower into the bowels of the crashed station until reaching an area with shoddy makeshift bridges leading across a huge pool of slag. Ah. Jack had wondered where all of that had gone.  
  
This felt like a trap.  
  
"The only way to the tunnels is across this crap?" Jack snarled.  
  
The boy nodded shakily, "they thought it would make them hard to follow."  
  
Jack swore and almost shoved the kid into the slag until he realized they might need him still.  
  
Rhys however didn't seem particularly phased already motioning the squad captain over, "did we ever take the terraforming equipment off the gun trucks?"  
  
"No Sir."  
  
Rhys smiled, "have some men haul it down here, I think we can make a much better bridge don't you Captain?"  
  
The man saluted voice sounding pleased, "yes Sir!"  
  
"Giving up your pet project so fast cupcake?" Jack asked one hand wrapping around the younger man's shoulders casually to prod at his throat.  
  
Rhys shrugged, "can't finish my pet project if we don't get rid of the bandits first."  
  
Getting across the slag proved to be relatively simply once the soldiers dropped the terraforming equipment into the slag as a bridge. The tunnel at the other end proved to be frustrating however, just large enough for two people to comfortably walk down side by side, or one mech.  
  
Jack was frowning at the passage while Rhys paced back and forth beside him, sending soldiers down the passage would be beyond dumb. Bottle necked like that they wouldn't stand a chance against the vault hunters on the other end.

 

* * *

  
  
Rhys stopped as his brain zeroed in on the solution and his eyes settled on the kid, they'd given him everything he needed really.  
  
Ten minutes later a mech stepped into the hallway with one screaming kid strapped to the front, Jack was laughing again as he watched the soldiers filter in behind the mech. “You may have outdone yourself this time pumpkin,” Jack chuckled clapping one hand against Rhys' back. “At the very least their faces are gonna be hilarious.”  
  
Rhys and Jack followed at the very end and by the time they reached the large room at the end of the tunnel the battle had already started. Miraculously the kid attached to the mech still seemed to be alive.  
  
Rhys looked across the room catching sight of Fiona ushering several Children of Helios, Loaderbot, and Gortys down another passage with Vaughn. Running again, of course. But where was Sasha?  
  
Apparently the answer to that was in the middle of the battle with an smg strapped around her middle and a determined expression on her face. Someone else could deal with her.  
  
Rhys started to head towards the tunnel he'd seen Vaughn head down only to run into Jack's arm. The CEO pointed up at the cavern ceiling, explosives. They meant to bury them down here.  
  
But where was the detonator?  
  
As Jack pulled their forces back away from the explosives he scanned the room with his echo eye. It was definitely on a wireless detonator, maybe he could hack it?  
  
“Sasha, don't you dare!” Fiona's voice drew his attention and his eyes jerked back to Sasha.  
  
His ex stood tall with her hand clenched around something small staring with a desperate sadness at her sister, “I'm sorry Fi, for everything, maybe this will make up for not listening, I...I lov-”  
  
Rhys aimed his gun at her, his shout interrupting the farewell, “put it down Sasha!”  
  
She turned to look at him and shook her head, “can't do that.”  
  
“Shoot her,” Jack snarled from where he was trading shots with some of the Children of Helios.  
  
Rhys' hand clenched around the gun and...he couldn't do it. All that fury, all that death and destruction, all the violence and insanity – after all that. He still couldn't shoot Sasha? Really? Frustration swelled inside him.  
  
“Rhys, I fucking said shoot her!”  
  
The younger man jolted glancing back at Jack and that's when he heard the click.  
  
The explosion rattled the cavern as the area near the escape passage crumbled. The distant sound of Fiona shouting for Sasha echoed through the falling rubble.  
  
When the dust settled most of the troops had avoided being hit, Sasha herself looked pale but almost proud as she blinked blood that had trailed down her face out of her eyes    
  
"Dammit," Jack cursed.  
  
Rhys still had his gun pointed at her, "drop your weapons Sasha."  
  
She raised her chin slightly, but unclipped the strap around her middle and allowed her smg to drop to the ground.  
  
"Great. Now shoot her Rhys," Jack snarled, "we have places to be."  
  
Rhys blinked, "if we take her alive she might have-"  
  
"Did I ask for your opinion cupcake? No I fucking didn't, now shoot her."  
  
"Jack-" he was cut off again as the older man's hand clamped down on his shoulder.  
  
"Listen pumpkin, I don't know what this is, but it's going to stop, you're mine to use and you will do as you're told,” the CEO's hand dragged down Rhys' throat and he leaned in close to speak directly in his ear, “she needs to die, just like all the rest of them. I know you were fucking her and that can make things a little hazy, but you are going to kill her for me."  
  
Sasha's eyes darted back and forth between the two men with a small frown until something obviously clicked, “oh my god; really Rhys? You're fucking him? I mean I knew you had a weird obsession but seriously?”  
  
“Not that it's any of your business sweet-cheeks, but I do the fucking,” Jack sneered at her, “now, shoot her.”  
  
Rhys frowned and tried to shut out the other man's breath against his cheek; he briefly found himself wondering if this was jealousy? No he decided, jealousy was very much the wrong word, Jack wouldn't be jealous, probably couldn't care less about Sasha herself. This wasn't about her, this was possessiveness, a need to control, he hadn't shot Sasha when Jack told him to. He'd failed to follow orders.  
  
Even knowing this Rhys was frozen, gun slowly lowering, he just couldn't do it. He couldn't shoot her, but maybe he could get someone else to? One of the soldiers – that was just as good wasn't it? His throat felt dry.  
  
Jack sighed, "I can see you're going to be difficult. If it's any consolation, I really didn't want to have to do this. Initiate command control, password cerberus1897."  
  
"Wha-" his echo eye activated and code flew across his vision faster than he could follow. A cold feeling spread up his spine, ice flooding his system, he'd felt something like this before. When he'd let Jack's AI take control.  
  
If he'd had control of his own actions Rhys would have sighed. Karma was truly a bitch. He'd pushed for this technology, abused it, first the spiderants, then the psychos, then captured Children of Helios. The irony of Rhys being it's latest subject wasn't lost on the COO.  
  
"Rhys, kill Sasha, but slowly - with your hands."  
  
_Dammit Jack._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So - to be clear. There will **NOT** be any non-con sex in this. My Jack's far too vain to use the command control that way. They gotta want it all on their own. 
> 
> Also I've been having a lot of fun hinting at this for chapters, and then I was super overt about it with the binary back a couple chapter. Hands up if you caught on! 
> 
> I feel like the editing in this chapter is pretty shit. Soooo sorry if it is. 
> 
> Moodboard for this chapter is [here](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/159452067173/act-two-chapter-seven-bitter-end-moodboard) if you're interested.
> 
> Uh. Yeah, so chuck me a comment if you've got the time. I'd love to hear what you think. Super excited about the next chapter and already working on it.


	22. Act Two // Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Hatefuck (By, The Bravery)
> 
> There is some awesome art with quotes underneath from this chapter attached to it so I decided to link it [here](https://gras-art.tumblr.com/post/159991286784/i-hate-you-i-know-loooooong-overdue-im-so).

_“The iron chain and the silken cord are both equally bonds.”_  
-Friedrich Schiller  
  


* * *

Act Two // Chapter Eight

* * *

  
  
"Rhys," Sasha's eyes were almost sad as he started to walk towards her, "dammit."  
  
If he could have laughed he would have. But he'd been very thorough in his work with Adler on the cybernetics program. He hadn't wanted to risk anyone being able to turn on him mid mission.  
  
Trying to resist was proving to be beyond impossible, at best he could get a tremble, a momentary hesitation before his body continued on without his input, and he'd paid dearly for that tremble, pain shooting through every nerve ending without the relief of being able to curl in on himself.  
  
Sasha scrambled to grab her gun and a bullet ripped through the side of her hand; Jack's laughter filled the room as a pained scream left her mouth.  
  
As Rhys loomed over his ex, her brown eyes widening in fear and pain, he simply let go. There was no point in continuing to try, that would only bring pain. So he'd sit back, and he'd wait. He would put this rage he felt over his will being sapped to use elsewhere, and someday Jack would regret this choice. But it wouldn't be today, or even anytime soon, he was playing the long game now.  
  
Rhys could be patient.  
  
His cybernetic arm held her head in place and he already knew where this was going. The programming fulfilled commands using data from the subject, in this case him. So 'kill her slowly with your hands' became whatever Rhys' best interpretation would be based on the data stored in his cybernetics.  
  
They'd run into some issues with cybernetics that had too little memory or not enough connection to the memory centres of the brain, it often caused subjects to be unable to fulfil complex commands.  
  
Unfortunately for Rhys, his cybernetics were top of the line, more than enough to interpret any command Jack could come up with.  
  
The cyborg felt his flesh hand run along her face before diving forward to gouge out her eye, his metal fingers scratching at the sensitive flesh behind it and then closing down on the sphere itself.  
  
The soft crunch as his hand closed was somehow louder than the pitiful sounds Sasha was making and though he was sure he should feel sickened by it, Rhys instead found himself rather fascinated by the sensation of her eye breaking against his hand.  
  
"You're one messed up cookie," Jack chuckled evidently having come up beside him.  
  
Rhys couldn't turn or look or physically react of course, and he had the strange sensation of an impulse simply being ignored by his body, it was like being in a dream.  
  
His hands calmly moved on, cybernetic palm delicately wrapping around her extremities, then snapping her wrists, and ankles, one by one. By her second ankle she'd stopped screaming. Remaining eye blown wide in pain, tears streaming down her face, collapsed like a marionette with it's strings cut.  
  
Rhys distantly watched as he pulled out the small knife that he kept in his boot, and then proceeded to carefully open up her stomach in one smooth movement.  
  
Completely steady hands parted the split flesh digging inside as Sasha began to scream in earnest again. Deft movements pulled an intestine to the surface and his blade severed through the organ with a few rough sawing motions.  
  
"Stop," Jack's singular word brought his movements to a halt, frozen in place, "alright cupcake, I'm gonna give you back control of your body in a moment here, and then you're gonna stand here and watch her die while I try to clean up your stupid mess. Put command control in passive mode, password cerberus1897."  
  
Rhys stumbled as he regained control of his muscles and sent a glower Jack's way. He had a million things he wanted to say, to scream, he wanted to wrap his hands around Jack's throat and strangle the man until he turned blue.  
  
But he settled for looking away and wiping the blade clean on Sasha's sleeve. What would getting angry achieve? Nothing.  
  
Jack saw him as a weapon, or at best judging by that password, an attack dog, and so of course he'd wanted to put a leash around his throat. Honestly he wasn't sure if he was more angry with himself or Jack. He'd sworn to himself he'd never slip up, never trust the man even for a moment, but if that was true he'd have put a command code in Jack's head instead of the other way around. He'd failed.  
  
As Jack walked away footsteps echoing in Rhys' skull like funeral drums he wondered what _passive mode_ meant. It would inevitably include some sort of protections for Jack. Certainly against physical attacks, but how much did it restrict his voice. He could certainly still think about whatever he wished seeing as he was very much enjoying imagining stabbing the man repetitively, but what if plotted to send others to kill him?  
  
They were all limits to be tested in time he supposed. For now however, Jack was still his best shot at finishing this thing.  
  
“You're such a fucking idiot,” Sasha rasped out.  
  
Rhys' head jerked as he focused his eyes on the dying woman, the cyborg sighed and sat down next to her, “weird last words to choose Sash.”  
  
She shook her head ever so slightly and a disgusted expression spread across her face, “are you actually making jokes after all of this?”  
  
“Well as you all frequently remind me, I'm apparently a psychopathic asshole,” he chuckled to himself and leaned back, “why am I an idiot this time?”  
  
"He turns you into his personal killer robot, and what do you do when he turns it off? Nothing." Her singular eye bore into him like a drill, "you don't get angry, you don't try to fight back, you just do exactly what he tells you to do. Like a good little mindless drone. It's beyond idiotic, it's insane!”  
  
Rhys frowned, “I am angry, but fighting against this would be pointless, I would know, I helped write the base programming he's using.”  
  
She looked utterly revolted, “why? Why would you keep developing something that could be used on you? What, were you going to force the rest of us to follow you?”  
  
He wasn't sure what to say, the thought had certainly occurred to him, what better punishment for allies who'd betrayed him after all? And if it kept Sasha alive wasn't he saving her? Helping her?  
  
Apparently his silence had been answer enough, Sasha looked like she was almost nauseous now, though if it was from him or the pain he couldn't be certain, “I hate you.”  
  
“I know.”  
  


* * *

  
  
Jack finished executing the remaining Children of Helios and checked his watch, it had been more than an hour since he'd left Rhys and judging by the blood loss she definitely should have died by now.  
  
It's not that he wanted to use the program on Rhys, but he'd read his journal entries, the man lied to everyone all the time, and life had shown Jack that you just couldn't trust anyone. He couldn't be blamed, it had been his only option if he wanted to keep Rhys alive. Really the man should be thanking him.  
  
When he returned to the partially collapsed chamber he found that hat girl's sister had indeed bled out and Rhys was leaned against the far wall. His right eye was unfocused, and his echo eye was glowing; apparently he'd gotten bored.  
  
“How long ago did she die?” he announced his presence and was amused to see Rhys panic momentarily when he realized Jack's entrance had gone unoticed.  
  
Clearing his throat the younger man pulled himself to his feet, “fifteen minutes ago, give or take.”  
  
Jack examined the corpse, squished eye, grazed hand, four broken limbs, and a stomach wound, he was kind of impressed she'd lasted that long. “We're done here cupcake, your stupid friends escaped, thanks to you.”  
  
Rhys threaded his hands together with a frown, “you know they're no friends of mine.”  
  
“And yet pumpkin, you let them go – didn't you?”  
  
“I didn't think-”  
  
“Yeah, that's about right, _didn't think_ ,” Jack sneered, “must be hard when your heads so damn empty.”  
  
A dark expression crossed the younger man's face briefly before disappearing behind a mask of apathy, “sorry.”  
  
Jack kept himself neutral for a moment before unleashing a grin, “good thing I'm in such a good mood after shooting all those Hyperion traitors; come on Rhysie, we've got a shuttle to catch.”  
  
Sitting across from the younger man he wondered briefly if the cyborg was still going to let Jack fuck him. It'd be a pity if he lost such a tractable lay over something as stupid as this, but Rhys was obviously upset.  
  
He'd get over it.  
  
To Jack's absolute surprise and amusement, _over it_ apparently meant, the moment they reached his office. The cyborg had followed him straight into the room and stripping his blood covered jacket off in one purposeful movement; a backwards glance over his shoulder conveyed what he had on his mind quite pointedly.  
  
“You're just full of surprises aren't you,” Jack laughed, “thought you'd be angry at me cupcake.”  
  
“I am,” Rhys assured him with a thin smile, “but I believe you promised to 'pound me into the furniture as soon as we got back up here.' Now are you going to fuck me, or just stand there old man?”  
  
“Oh, I'll show you old man,” the CEO pulled off his own jacket and quickly yanked his sweater over his head.  
  
Rhys dropped his vest to the ground a few feet away and leaned on the desk with a challenging expression. Quickly slotting himself between the younger man's legs Jack reached up grabbing him roughly by his hair and then pulling the other man into a punishing clash between their mouths. Somehow in the midst of the battle going on between their lips the cyborg had managed to divest himself of his pants.  
  
Jack could taste blood on his lips, and he grinned before yanking Rhys backwards towards the window that was currently overlooking Pandora, “see that cupcake,” he muttered in the other man's ear as he unclipped his own belt, “we're gonna to kill all of them.”  
  
Rhys breathed in sharply biological eye dilating and Jack bit down on his throat as he opened the small package he'd had in his pocket for exactly this purpose.  
  
While ensuring as quickly as possible that they we're both slicked up enough, Jack licked a stripe along the younger man's spine, “you like that don't you, turns you on when I talk about murder doesn't it?”  
  
“Fuck,” Rhys groaned and pushed backwards obviously trying to get some sort of movement, “yes Jack, it turns me on, now hurry up.”  
  
“Just had to ask pumpkin,” Jack smirked and shoved Rhys forward so he was leaned over against the window, folded arms supporting his weight. The younger man was clearly furious with him, and yet he was still completely willing; no he wasn't just willing, he was desperate, and that was absolutely glorious.  
  
“Apparently I do since-” Rhys' words cut off with a loud moan of appreciation as the older man unforgivingly drove himself all the way in.  
  
“We're gonna burn em' to the fucking ground cupcake,” Jack hissed as he set a relentless pace, “it's going to be beautiful, they'll die screaming and crying. You and me, we're gonna rip them limb from limb.”  
  
Rhys' shuddered underneath him, his moans getting louder with each bloody promise, and that was beautiful too in it's own way. Jack's stupid little fuckable weapon, sometimes it really was just _good_ to be king.  
  


* * *

  
  
Rhys pulled his pants up and scanned his eyes across the office in the search for where he'd abandoned the rest of his clothing, Jack of course didn't even attempt to help, just sat self satisfied in his office chair with that proud look on his face.  
  
Now seemed as good a time as any for his request, he'd originally intended to force the issue when the moment came, but as that was no longer an option, “when we complete the weapon, can we use it on Promethea first?”  
  
Jack raised one eyebrow clearly amused, “we're already over Pandora pumpkin, why wouldn't we use it here first.”  
  
Rhys fiddled with his shirt for a moment before pulling it over his arm, “Promethea's not as well protected, no vault hunters, it would make an ideal test run.”  
  
The older man chuckled, “plus you want to stick it to dear old dad one last time? That it?”  
  
“That may possibly be a factor.”  
  
“ _May possibly be_ ,” Jack mocked before rolling his eyes, “alright cupcake, Promethea first, then Pandora, then everywhere else that needs to be cleaned up.”  
  
Rhys smiled, it was important to be as polite as possible here, if the man didn't feel appreciated he would almost certainly take it back, “thanks Jack.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah,” the man slouched back in his chair, “don't you have work to be doing?”  
  
“I do,” Rhys paused and then asked the other question nagging at him, “the command control is keyed to you right? No one else can...do that?”  
  
The CEO snorted, “of course it's keyed to me, you think I'm giving anyone else that sort of power, go do your job Rhys and stop asking dumb questions.  
  
The younger man nodded once, picked up his jacket, and then left the office, he could do this. It was fine. It was all fine, if he played his cards right Jack wasn't that hard to manipulate, and if he got some good sex in the process well, who could really blame him for enjoying the side benefits?  
  
He'd gotten clumsy since bringing Jack back, too big, not subtle, he'd just been following the other man's lead without question no matter where it had gone. But this, well, he'd been sleeping and now he was awake again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. TA DA. New chapter. Edited and everything. Probably not perfect, but hopefully pretty good.
> 
> Chuck me a comment if you've got time. 
> 
> I'll be aiming for Thursday or Friday for the next chapter. Week after next I'll hopefully be getting a lot of writing done since I'm taking a three hour bus ride to go to a nearby expo, should give me some time.


	23. Act Two // Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue Monday (Version By, Orgy)

_I was walking among the fires of Hell,_  
 _delighted with the enjoyments of Genius;_  
 _which to Angels look like torment and insanity._   
\- William Blake  
  


* * *

Act Two // Chapter Nine

* * *

  
  
The message from Dahl had arrived that morning. The missive droned on and was chalk full of legalise, but the long and short of it was that with Atlas having a new CEO, they believed they had the legal right to renegotiate any existing contracts between the two companies.   
  
Jack was of course livid, Hyperion and Dahl had never seen eye to eye, and Rhys had been hard pressed to convince him to leave the pre-existing contracts alone in the first place. Which was in part why he was so confused by this particular choice by Dahl. They knew who Jack was, they knew the current contracts were relatively fair for both parties. Did they think they might convince Jack to give them more? Or were they backing out entirely?  
  
Either way it was too late to salvage now, Jack was furious that they'd trampled on his benevolence. So even as he made his way to the meeting with the Dahl representatives Rhys was pulling up everything he had on them, layouts of facilities, information on their current CEO, weak points they might exploit in board members. It was unlikely this meeting would go well.   
  
Worse still Rhys' friends from Jacobs had found out that the remnants of Maliwan had managed to dig themselves out of the dirt. They'd been buying up property on Promethea like it was going out of style, and Rhys wanted to know why. Unfortunately Jacobs had dried up as a source of information, politely explaining that they felt it was better for their longevity to distance themselves from Atlas.  
  
It wasn't that Rhys hadn't anticipated the other companies baulking at the return of Handsome Jack. It's that he'd honestly assumed they'd be too afraid to change anything. Apparently he had been wrong in that. Hopefully whatever happened with Dahl would remind everyone else how this worked.   
  
Entering into the room Rhys could see he'd arrived late. He'd been sure the meeting was supposed to start in fifteen minutes; and yet here was Jack, gun casually pointed at the representatives Dahl had sent, every turret in the room trained on them.   
  
"Hey cupcake," Jack tossed him a grin, "sorry to start without you, but hey, turns out these assholes are here to assassinate me, and possibly you."  
  
Rhys raised one eyebrow and analyzed the scene again before settling on the knocked over water jug, a quick scan with his echo eye told him there was poison in the water. "Clumsy," he commented finally with a frown, "I thought Dahl was more clever than poison in the water jug."  
  
Jack snorted and rolled his eyes, "it's Dahl."  
  
"Or it was a distraction to get all our defences out in the open," Rhys pointed out before turning his echo eye on the three representatives. They were putting up a convincing act, but according to the lie detection algorithms in his eye that was all it was.  
  
Jack scowled but quickly yanked Rhys down behind the couch as all three representatives broke out guns and started firing on the turrets.   
  
"How the hell did they get guns past security?" Jack snarled.  
  
"My eye didn't detect weaponry either," Rhys pointed out pulling his own gun free. Two of the six turrets were already down. These assassins were good.   
  
Peering over the couch Rhys swore before ducking back down again, "they've got some sort of advanced shield, it's soaking all the damage."  
  
"Son of a taint," the cyborg heard the older man grumble, "it's always true, you want something done right..."  
  
Rhys looked over just in time to watch him activate his cloaking device.   
  
"Dammit," the younger man mumbled into his sleeve before checking his echo connection, security was already on it's way judging from the alerts in the system. It was only a matter of time.   
  
The sound of a shield popping filled the room and Rhys looked over the couch again to see Jack holding a large gun he'd never seen before while grinning like a lunatic. A second pull of the trigger and Rhys watched as one of the representatives fell to pieces, blood splattering across his shocked allies face.  
  
Ah, he'd clearly managed to weaponize Adler's tech from the door at the siren facility.   
  
Rhys halted his musings as he realized something wasn't quite right. Where was the third representative. The first was disassembled, the second in shock, where was number three?  
  
Rhys' eyes finally focused on the third member as he turned his head, the woman was apparently unphased by her allies gory death and was levelling a gun at Jack's skull.  
  
The cyborg didn't even think, he just let out a low "shit" and then jumped.   
  
The bullet caught him in his flesh shoulder and sent him spinning to the ground, the sound of the disassembler gun going off again dimly registered in his ears twice more, and then his blurring vision cleared to find Jack frowning down at him.  
  
Had that been part of the passive command control program? How could he know, and if it wasn't, how dumb was he? Last week he'd sworn careful bloody vengeance, and this week he was taking a bullet for the man? It had to be the passive command; except Jack looked truly confused.   
  
"Why the hell did you do that?" He demanded after a moment.   
  
Rhys frowned he wasn't really sure other than, "she was aiming at you."  
  
Something between excitement and terror crossed Jack's face in the flicker of a moment before he settled into a distant expression.   
  
"I think there's an Anshin health kit in the side table," he finally said before turning away.   
  
Rhys groaned and took a moment to pull himself to his feet, pulling open the drawer and clumsily taking out the syringe.   
  
A wild laugh came from the other side of the room as he injected the medicine; with a small wince he glanced up at the CEO, "what?"  
  
Jack was holding an echo recorder in one hand, "this isn't even about me pumpkin."  
  
"What?"   
  
"I mean, they used me as a reason to suggest changes and send in assassins, like a final tipping point or whatever, but according to this they've been side eyeing you since you took out Maliwan, and they've been planning to kill you since Hollow Point became public knowledge."  
  
Rhys froze not entirely certain what to do with that, "they had no vested interest in Hollow Point, why-"  
  
Jack was almost giggling now, "because they think you're unstable and prone to unwarranted violence."  
  
A frown crossed the cyborgs face, unwarranted violence? What the hell did they know?   
  
"Oh I'll show them unstable," Rhys grumbled under his breath before shooting a death glare at one of the lumps of oozing flesh decorating the meeting room floor.   
  
"I bet you will," Jack was grinning smugly at him now and stepping closer, "gonna show them a little 'unwarranted violence' Rhysie?"  
  
Rhys turned his glower on the other man who was now less than a foot away, "it was always warranted."  
  
"Sure it was cupcake," Jack responded in a less than convincing tone, he stepped into Rhys' space and pushed the younger man backwards.   
  
As he felt his back hit the wall, and Jacks mouth clash with his own, he found it was easier to just let go, of the what ifs, of the defensiveness, of the anger. He pressed back just as harshly, his cybernetic arm coming up to press bruises into Jack's arm. At least he could still do that.  
  
The bitter thought was brushed away as a soft ding sounded behind him and Rhys fell backwards into the elevator. That asshole.   
  
Jack landed heavily on top of him as he barely avoided cracking his head on the solid panelling below. The CEO just smirked at him nonchalantly and reached one hand up to hit a button before grabbing Rhys roughly by his hair; his free hand slid between them to tug at the younger man's belt.   
  
Pulling back somewhat breathlessly Rhys pressed one hand to the older man's chest, "where the hell are we going Jack?"  
  
"You wanna be in the middle of being fucked out of your mind when the soldiers and cleaning crew show up?"  
  
"No, of course not but-"  
  
"Then shut up," Jack growled before forcefully shoving the cyborg back to the floor.   
  
By the time the elevator dinged again it was the absolute last thing on the COO's mind. Without the discomfort of belt buckles in the way Jack had focused on grinding almost viciously against him while biting down on the nape of his neck.  
  
Tilting his head with a soft groan Rhys was confused to find himself looking into the executive apartment suite situated above Jack's office. The man had never brought him somewhere with anything but office furniture prior to this point and Rhys was beyond confused.   
  
He however got no explanation from Jack. The older man pulling him up by his collar and pushing him through the elevator doors without a word.   
  
"Jac-" the questions died in his throat at the glare he received.   
  
There was something strange behind the other man's eyes, but he had very little time with which to contemplate what it might be, because Jack was still dragging him by his collar.   
  
It was like being in a sandstorm or drowning and Rhys really was not sure which way was up any more. All he knew was Jack had just shoved him backwards onto a bed, with the satisfied smile a caveman might give the person they'd clubbed over the head to bring home decorating his face.   
  
Still clearly pleased with himself Jack started stripping layers all while leering down at the younger man. Unwilling to fall behind and slow down whatever this was Rhys quickly mimicked the older man, tossing his clothing off the bed without a second thought.   
  
Jack was on him the moment the inconvenience of clothing had been dealt with, hands seemingly everywhere at once, pressing, bruising, mouth devouring every square inch; the cyborg was fairly confident he'd broken skin at least once.   
  
He didn't even notice Jack had opened a drawer until in slammed shut and the older man was giving him a wicked grin. He didn't think to question it at all until he felt metal close around his wrist.   
  
Of course he had handcuffs.   
  
Jack pushed both arms above Rhys' head and he didn't even have it in him to protest. Far too interested in the slow press of Jack's body against his own. Another clicking noise signified his arms having been locked around the bars on the headboard.   
  
The older man stopped moving to lean back with a Cheshire smile, he was clearly pleased with himself. Rhys bucked his hips in an attempt to indicate his displeasure with the situation, almost saying so out loud before recalling that glare in the front hall.   
  
Jack reached down next to the bed, and picked up Rhys' belt, before leaning forward with a slow push with his hips. The belt slid around the younger man's neck and was rapidly being drawn closed.   
  
Even then he didn't say a word, the leather tightening snugly against his throat, though it was not so tight he couldn't breath. At least not yet.  
  
What the hell was wrong with him? It was only the billionth time he'd wondered this exact thing. But it really was beyond him. Why did he enjoy this?   
  
All thought was driven from his mind as two fingers drove into him coated in lube and Rhys let out a soft moan. Jack's other hand was quickly coating his own cock, his usually deadly eyes now expressing nothing but hunger.   
  
As he propped Rhys up slightly and thrust in, Jacks hands moved back to the belt tightening it as he moved. The tightness at the cyborgs throat very slowly growing until his moans were silent, and darkness tinted the edge of his vision.   
  
The older man loosened the belt just enough for Rhys to suck in a breath of oxygen all while driving hard against the younger man's prostate. The breath he'd managed to draw in was leaving his body again almost immediately in the form of a long nearly pornographic moan.   
  
And then it was tightening again and Rhys realized very quickly he was not going to last long.   
  
He managed twice more of Jack tightening then loosening the belt before the whole word crashed in on him. The orgasm seemed to tear through him in a spine tingling wave that had him utterly blind and deaf to his surroundings.   
  
It was only as he came back down that he realized Jack had clearly also cum just as hard, his pupils were so dilated he looked high and a satisfied groan escaped the CEO's mouth.   
  
After a few moments of recovery, a small key was pressed into his locked hands, and Jack pulled out without a word before flopping onto his side in the bed.   
  
It took what felt like an eternity of irritating twisting before Rhys managed to get his arms uncuffed, and glanced over at the older man. Did he mean for Rhys to stay? No of course not. Besides, it was only the early evening, he had things to get done, and he was sure Jack did as well.   
  
As he moved to stand an arm snaked around and shoved him none too gently back to the bed. "Go to sleep dum dum," the older man grumbled and then returned to completely ignoring his presence.  
  
Rhys had the shocking realization that this was as close to trust as the other man was capable. He still had a command control in his brain that prevented him from doing anything to hurt Jack. But that hadn't made the difference before.   
  
He was fairly confident it had been taking the bullet for him.   
  
Why had he taken that bullet for him?   
  
Rhys' mind drifting back to his interrupted puzzle. Clearly Jack hadn't programmed that response in. So why after everything?  
  
He admired him sure, even hero worshipped him at some points, and he was definitely attracted to the man. But that was all it was, and if he'd been less of a moron he would have let Jack take that bullet and then he wouldn't have to worry about a command control.  
  
Rhys frowned but didn't attempt to leave the bed again, he simply curled into the pillow and let his self reflection lull him off to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a new chapter. Now sleep. I'm so sleepy right now. And I have to get up in six hours. Sooo sleep. Hope you all like it.
> 
> Would love to read comments if you have the time.


	24. Act Two // Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Dangerous (By, Royal Deluxe)
> 
> Lots and lots of perspective hopping this chapter. Sorry bout that, just didn't work any other way.

_“The truth exposes some people so deeply,_  
_their last defense is to front a carefree insanity.”_  
-Criss Jami  
  


* * *

Act Two // Chapter Ten

* * *

  
  
Rhys woke with a start, the memory of a nightmare slipping from him but leaving the unsettled feeling behind.  
  
It didn't particularly surprise him to discover that Jack sprawled when he slept, limbs taking up the majority of the bed and shoving the cyborg off to the side.  
  
Rhys slowly eased himself into a seated position and ran his eyes over the man laying next to him. Even in sleep he managed to look smug, like a cat who'd just knocked something particularly valuable off a shelf.  
  
Now what did he do?  
  
Did he wake Jack up? Did he leave?  
  
Rhys ended up settling for leaning back against the pillow and pulling up his email. He'd deal with whatever messages he had and then if Jack wasn't awake yet he'd just go.  
  
He was about halfway through answering an email from Rothstein when he was interrupted by a solid poke at his port. Wincing and blinking his echo eye off he turned to view a smirking Jack.  
  
"That's still sore you know," he commented flatly.  
  
Jack just snorted and rolled out of the bed heading towards his bathroom.  
  
Once the man had left the room Rhys pulled on his clothing and headed for the elevator. He could fix himself up in his office.  
  
"Hey," Jack's voice rang out from behind him and the younger man froze before slowly turning around. The CEO was leaning out of the bathroom door looking far too pleased with himself, "meet me down in RM in an hour, you and me are ripping Dahl to shreds today cupcake."  
  
Rhys tried to tamp down on the excitement that ran up his spine at that statement, but he'd clearly been unsuccessful if Jack's grin was anything to judge by.  
  
Rhys stifled a matching grin, and attempted to switch to brisk nod before spinning on one heel and heading for the elevator. It was too easy to get sucked in by the older man. Too easy to forget he'd quite literally stripped his will. Too easy to not care, to want him to have that and anything else he could possibly ever ask for.  
  
Irritated now more by his own thought process than by anything else Rhys purposefully dug the heel of his boot into the floor on the way out scuffing the finish. That'd show him? Who was he kidding, even if Jack noticed it's not as though he'd have to fix it.  
  
He leaned back against the cool wall of the elevator and closed his eyes. He needed to focus, he couldn't afford to keep getting distracted like this. Or to do things like jump in front of bullets meant for Jack.  
  
Maybe Fiona had been spot on with her discription of him, a drooling sycophant. Yup, that was it, described him perfectly.  
  
He raised his head up ever so slightly only let it thud back into the wall of the elevator.  
  
The lifts soft bell indicating it was opening pulled the COO from his thoughts. Stepping from the elevator he frowned when he realized two of the department heads (military and information systems) were loitering in the hallway in front of his office.  
  
Just what he needed, more witness to the eternal 'walk of shame' his life had become.  
  
"What is so damn urgent you couldn't make an appointment," he spat out before they could say a word.  
  
Info-Systems looked nervous, his eyes widening as he shuffled to the side so he was slightly behind Military.  
  
"It uh, can wait Sir until you're cleaned up of course," the thin man mumbled.  
  
Rhys tilted his head, he knew he was taking his pre-existing annoyance out on this man but really, what idiot suggested their boss needed to clean up?  
  
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" The cyborg let his face twist into a sneer and he took a step closer.  
  
"I suspect he means that you have blood on your clothes Sir," military spoke up seemingly unfazed by his antics, her eyes like steel.  
  
Info-Systems let out a squeak and a quick nod of agreement.  
  
"And I should care because?"  
  
Military simply shrugged and side stepped, it appeared she had no qualms about allowing Rhys to take his anger out on the man.  
  
Info-Systems recoiled back as though he'd been struck, "we figured out how Dahl got the guns in!"  
  
Rhys stopped slightly frustrated at having his outlet stolen but intrigued none-the-less, "well, spit it out."  
  
"Initially we assumed they must have some new technology that hid them, but it appears that the system was hacked internally."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"We don't know Sir," Info-Systems hesitated, "it's unlike anything we've ever seen. I brought up the records of the incident so you could see right away."  
  
"We're interrogating all potential perpetrators," Military assured him, "as of yet we have no confessions."  
  
Rhys reached out and plucked up the echo-drive Info-Systems was holding, "anything else?"  
  
"No Sir."  
  
Feeling irritated and now concerned Rhys pushed past them, his secretary looked up as though she wanted to say something before obviously thinking better of it and turning back to her computer.  
  


* * *

  
Jack zoned out as one of the RM scientists droned on about another option for taking out Dahl bases. He didn't particularly care how the assholes died, just that they did.  
  
Rhys sat to his right at the conference table, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed in focused concentration. He seemed wound up.  
  
The younger man had changed into a high collared suit prior to the meeting in what Jack suspected was an attempt to hide the ring of bruises around his throat. It had almost worked.  
  
"Enough," Rhys cut into the scientists chatter, "we've been here for two hours now, choose whichever method you'd like, the point is to drive them to the negotiating table, I don't care how you do it. Jack?"  
  
"Read my mind," he chuckled leaning forward in his seat.  
  
"Oh," the lead scientist frowned, "we only have five more methods to suggest and then-"  
  
"Get out. Do your job. Don't fuck it up," Rhys snapped. The cyborg was definitely on edge this morning.  
  
The scientists scrambled to pick up their notes and flee the room.  
  
Jack stood as the door clicked closed and clamped one hand down around the back of the younger man's neck, "not that I mind the aggression cupcake, pretty fucking hot actually, but what the hell has you all riled up?"  
  
Rhys turned to look at him and bit his lip; he seemed almost conflicted for a moment before slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out an echo-drive, "this is a record of an internal hack on our security system. Information systems couldn't make heads or tails of it, and neither can I."  
  
Jack reached out his free hand to pluck up the drive, "they're that good huh?"  
  
"Not necessarily good just," Rhys frowned and ran one hand along the table, "wrong."  
  
"Wrong?" the CEO glanced down at the man, Rhys wasn't as good at hacking as Jack but he was no slouch. Had he not slept well? No Jack had woken up at least twice and the man had been asleep the whole time.  
  
Rhys turned "alien."  
  
"I'll check it out as soon as I get back to-"  
  
His echo comm went off interrupting him and judging from Rhys going rigid so had his internal one.  
  
As Jack reached for his communicator Rhys' eye flashed and a grin suddenly broke across his face, "they just mined through to the device."  
  


* * *

  
Their shuttle landed along with six squads of soldiers, better safe than sorry. Additionally Jack had insisted on bringing along some secret project he had been working on with the promise that Rhys would love it.  
  
They were in the viewing tower when the inevitable happened and vault hunters arrived. Mordecai, Brick, and Tim, oddly Fiona was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Rhys was beyond irritated but Jack seemed almost excited.  
  
As he reached for his gun he felt Jack press one hand across his, "we're not even going to need to leave the tower pumpkin."  
  
"What are we doing Jack? They're tearing the troops apart."  
  
He smirked and reached for the mining facility speaker controls and brought them crackling to life, "hey just the bandit scum I was hoping for!"  
  
Looking at the cameras Rhys could see they'd stopped dead and were turning towards the tower. At least it distracted them from the mine.  
  
"I brought you idiots a present," Jack continued with a smile that could outdo the devil, "so I want you all to look left and give a big hello to the new and improved Lillith!"  
  
Jack slammed his hand closed on a remote and Rhys' jaw dropped.  
  
The large metal crate containing Jack's special project snapped open and out stepped Lillith. Or rather a horribly mutated version of the siren.  
  
Slag dripped from a fanged mouth and clawed hands glowed purple. Her disjointed movements were almost mechanical. With her head lolled to one side she let out a screech like a banshee and launched herself at her old allies.  
  
Jack was laughing so hard he was almost crying, "remember your stupid bird Mordecai? Let's just say I improved the process."  
  
Rhys tore his eyes from the combat to look over at the man he'd brought back from the grave. Try as he might where there should have been guilt, all the cyborg could muster was  envy of a man finally getting his revenge; and where he should feel disgust a feeling of ugly amusement welled up instead.  
  
Maybe that was it. The secret to Jack, the reason for his success, for his magnetism. He didn't care about any of that. Jack wouldn't have been wondering why he didn't feel guilty. He wouldn't be trying to feel disgust. He wouldn't sit around contemplating why he did things the way he did. Jack embraced what he was, who he was without reservation.  
  
So Rhys just let go. Fuck it. Maybe it was time to turn his brain off, stop fighting it, and just enjoy himself for once.  
  
The cyborg let out a laugh as he watched Brick trip backwards terrified, Lillith landing on top of him with another vicious screech. The thrilled look Jack gave him spoke volumes, attraction and excitement sparking up behind his eyes.  
  
"Champagne cupcake?" Jack held up a bottle.  
  
"Celebrating already?"  
  
"Oh, I think this is worth celebrating," the older man snickered as the siren ripped into Brick's throat while Mordecai screamed.  
  
"Fair enough."  
  


* * *

  
Jack walked through the battlefield Rhys close to his side, the younger man letting out a chuckle as Jack idly kicked a severed arm in his path.  
  
He'd never seen the younger man so relaxed in himself before, but he had to say he was pleased, hopefully Rhysie wouldn't go back to brooding after this. The cyborg was so much more fun when he didn't mope.  
  
"Come on out Timtam, no point in hiding," Lillith had him cornered but Jack had been giving her periodic shocks through her collar to keep the siren from outright killing the man, "all your little friends are dead."  
  
"Or will be very soon," Rhys commented while examining Lillith like she was some sort of show dog.  
  
"True, still gotta off hat girl, muscles, and the rest."  
  
Slowly his doppelganger stepped into the open, hands held up in defeat.  
  
"I'll never be your attack dog again Jack," Tim shot a pointed look at Rhys and the younger man simply rolled his eyes.  
  
"Did ya ever think Lillith would be my attack dog?"  
  
Tim paled and suddenly looked uncertain.  
  
"That's right, either you go back through your training and get to be my double again which is a pretty sweet gig, or I get to make you test subject number two," Jack paused to motion at the siren, "what'll it be?"  
  
Tim mumbled something under his breath and Jack stepped forward to grab the man by his chin and drag him forwards.  
  
"What'd you say?" The CEO demanded.  
  
"Training," Tim's voice cracked, "I'll take training."  
  
Jack laughed, "yeah, that's what I thought. Now these nice soldiers are going to escort you to your new teachers and Rhysie and I are going to go kill Promethea. See ya soon."  
  
"Promethea?" Tim stumbled and looked shocked, "you're not taking out Pandora first?"  
  
Narrowing his eyes Jack examined his double closer, he'd been afraid before but now he was terrified, "huh, good call on Promethea I guess pumpkin," he spoke as he turned back to Rhys, "looks like they have some sort of plan in place for Pandora."  
  
Rhys was also examining Tim suspiciously, "seems likely."  
  
"Do me a favour and make sure Timmy gets back to the shuttle cupcake, I gotta get the bitch back in her kennel."  
  


* * *

  
Rhys watched as the soldiers cuffed Tim into the shuttle and then reached forward to tug on them roughly until he was satisfied they would hold.  
  
"You once told me I should shoot you if I thought you were going the same way as Jack," Tim said voice sad and eyes distant.  
  
The cyborg laughed, giving the man a pitying look, "I lied."  
  
"Obviously," Tim shook his head, "I should have done it."  
  
"If it's any consolation, I'd already hacked your gun," he couldn't help but brag, it felt good to hold it over him, especially Tim. You really just couldn't knock the value of making an exact replica of Jack look that hopeless.  
  
"What happened to Sasha?" Tim frowned, "is she...is she alive?"  
  
Rhys crouched down to examine the man's face, "why? Do you have a crush?"  
  
Tim finally focused his eyes on the cyborg with a glare, "she was my friend!"  
  
The COO stood up and turned away to hide the tightening of his face as he recalled the sensation of being unable to control his body. It was fine, he had to let go, someday he'd have Jack like that, and that was when he'd make the older man kill someone he didn't want to. Maybe it would be Tim.  
  
Turning back with an almost dramatic flare of his coat Rhys grinned, "well hate to be the one to tell you this, but I killed her, it took at least an hour, and she just kept screaming. Kind of annoying really."  
  
Tim let out a frustrated snarl and launched himself forward the entire inch his restraints would allow, "you and Jack aren't going to win you know. You'll pay for everything you've done."  
  
With a cold sneer Rhys turned away, "you have no idea what I've already paid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo boy. This one was tough to write I think. If anything isn't clear please don't hesitate to ask. I have a very clear vision of where Rhys' head is at regarding the whole situation. But I'm not 100% sure if it came across properly. Jack's head is as usual up his own ass. ;P
> 
> Toss me a comment if you've got the time!
> 
> Moodboard for this chapter [here](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/159949257738/act-two-chapter-ten-of-bitter-end-has-been).
> 
> Next chapter might be slightly late because I'm heading off to the Calgary Comic Expo so I will probably be fairly busy between that and visiting friends/relatives. That being said I will be on vacation for eight days - so maybe I'll have time? At latest we're looking at it being about a week until the next chapter, but I will definitely try to get the next one out sooner than that. I update on what's going on with the fic on my [tumblr](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com).


	25. Act Two // Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Addictive (By, Royal Republic)
> 
> Warning for mild bloodplay this chapter.

_“When was it exactly that I became... this? By small degrees, I suppose. One act presses hard upon another, on a path we have no choice but to follow, and each time there are reasons. We do what we must, we do what we are told, we do what is easiest. What else can we do but solve one sordid problem at a time? Then one day we look up and fine we are... this.”_  
\- Joe Abercrombie

 

* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Eleven**

* * *

  
People living on Promethea were a generally suspicious lot. Made up of what was primarily the descendents of long abandoned Atlas employees, most had a very limited understanding of anything beyond their little corner of the planet.  
  
For this reason the eternally warring tribes and clans on the surface were highly unlikely to even notice the space station arriving in orbit above their radioactive wasteland of a planet.  
  
Rhys couldn't help but appreciate the irony of him being the one to return Atlas to working order so that it could cleanse the mess of violent marauders. He who wouldn't even exist without the chaotic landscape below.  
  
Dahl however noticed the Atlas station arriving immediately.  
  
During the collapse of Hyperion, Dahl had gleefully bought up the majority of their land holdings everywhere but Pandora, where Rhys had already taken them for himself.  
  
So it was what constituted as Dahl airspace that they dropped out into. But they'd of course anticipated this particular issue.  
  
It had taken nearly a month to install the second half of the device, and so Rhys had taken the opportunity to peel apart every Dahl representative he could get his hands on.  
  
Jack had started watching Rhys' sessions and they more often than not ended up with both men in Jack's plush bed while older man whispered promises of blood and fire in his ear.  
  
That being said the afore mentioned peeling had more use than as foreplay, although that had rapidly become Rhys' favourite use of the activity.

They knew every battle tactic, every commanders name, troop movements, shuttle weaknesses, Dahl didn't stand a chance.  
  
This was not aided by the fact that rather than immediately attack when Atlas arrived, they'd tried to contact the space station on echo comm to tell them to leave Dahl airspace.  
  
Jack wasted no time unleashing the full fire power of every ship they'd brought with them into the nearest Dahl vessels, all while laughing over the open echo connection.  
  
As ships tore apart and the screams of pilots being sucked out into the vacuum of space played over the open channel, Rhys let a smile tug at his lips.

Although he may have lost much in the endeavour, he'd made it.

The battle was over within the hour, the last few Dahl ships being mopped up by their forces.  
  
"Ready for your debut cupcake?" Jack stood to run one hand along Rhys chest before coming to settle over the plate above his heart.  
  
A shiver ran up the COO's spine and he grinned in answer.  
  
The device command centre was built right into the gigantic Eridian device, a series of thin wires that they had discovered interfaced directly with Rhys. It wasn't a pleasant sensation and during the first systems test the younger man had screamed as the alien technology slid under his skin.  
  
Jack pushed Rhys' shirt aside impatiently and the younger man shivered in the cold. The CEO's carefully lifted the panel above his heart to access the cybernetics beneath.  
  
Prior to this point their experiments had involved a small vial of liquid Eridium. This time he was to be attached to what was quite literally a vat of the power source.  
  
To say he was nervous at being hooked up to that much poisonous material would be an understatement. But he didn't move as Jack clipped the tube carefully into place.  
  
"Alright pumpkin," Jack stepped back, "clean it up."  
  
Rhys pressed his hands forward and the wires shot out of the device to slide their way under his skin again. Jack flicked the switch on the vat of Eridium and suddenly everything was on fire. Energy burning through his system and into the device, until finally after what felt an eternity, it all stopped and he was everywhere, he was the fire.  
  
Expansive, powerful, like a god. He could see every life on the planet below, fluttering little heartbeats unknowing of the destruction about to befall them.  
  
It was simplistic to reach out and squeeze.

The flame was pulled out of him, then through the device to tear into the people below. Every bandit, every monstrous radioactive creature, every violent lunatic, every Dahl employee, every single person who might get in their way.  
  
Jack had said they would have to make an example of Promethea and Pandora before turning their sights on the rest of the galaxy. Show what they could do to people who stepped out of line, and then they could fix it all. It was an order the cyborg was more than happy to comply with.  
  
Rhys was vaguely aware that someone was laughing as Prometheans were blasted off their own planet. It took him a minute to recognize that it was his own voice. 

* * *

A malicious grin spread across Jack's face as he watched the fireworks through the window. Arcs of purple light shot across the planets surface so quickly they were impossible to trace, all to the tune of Rhys' laughter.  
  
It was gorgeous, it was deadly, and it was all his.  
  
Jack tossed one smug look back at where the younger man was rigid in the machines embrace, eyes rolled back in his head, laughing like a child who'd just discovered ice cream.

The CEO vaguely wondered what the Rhys who'd insisted he was different from Jack would think of the man he'd become now? Jack added that thought to the growing pile of victories for the day.  
  
Then as quickly as it began the device ground to a halt and Rhys lurched forward onto the floor, the wires pulling out of his body slick with blood.  
  
Jack crouched down and ran one hand possessively along the younger man's jaw before stopping very briefly to push at one of the steadily dripping puncture marks where the wires had left him. A soft groan escaped the corner of the COO's mouth and his eyelids flickered in what appeared to be a struggle with consciousness.  
  
One last prod at the injury and Jack sighed, time to patch his weapon up, wouldn't do to have him dying, he jammed the Anshin insta-health vial none too gently into the other man's neck, “up an at em cupcake, unless you don't wanna see the new and improved Promethea?”  
  
A pained gasp escaped the younger man, “just, one second.”  
  
Jack rolled his eyes and slid one arm underneath the cyborg to help ease him to his feet, “come on, I wanna bask in our success.”  
  
Rhys seemed to have regained his strength by the time they reached the elevator, Jack took the opportunity to slam the slimmer man into the side of the metal box and bite down on one of his lips. There was a small grunt, then a cybernetic arm was pressing bruises into his hip and the mouth underneath his was responding enthusiastically.  
  
With a ding and a lurch the elevator reached it's goal and Jack pulled away dragging the younger man along with him into the observation room.

The diagnostics workers carefully ignored the antics of the two men running the company, one going so far as to actually cross the room and examine the far wall as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen.  
  
A few weeks back some piss-ant had thought it was acceptable to suggest the two men keep their PDA to a minimum while working, the guy had screamed for hours and Jack had played the entire experience start to finish over the PA system for the station. It amused the CEO to see how far he could now push the issue, he had become obnoxiously overt just to see the desperate attempts by Atlas employees to act like it was all a completely normal part of the workplace.  
  
He wrapped one arm around Rhys' shoulders while running his free hand along the younger man's cheek fondly, then without further ado he leaned over the nearest diagnostic officers station, “well did it work?”  
  
“Y-yes Sir, we're detecting no active life forms on the planet,” the man indicated a readout on his screen.  
  
With a cackled laugh of victory he turned to view the man he was currently draped across and was thrilled to find an enthralled expression on the COO's face.  
  
Rhys' mismatched eyes slowly tore from the screen before settling on Jack with a hunger behind them that the older man recognized instantaneously.

The cyborg lazily focused on the nearest employee who looked like they were about ready to faint, “all of you get out.”  
  
The younger man's voice had been soft but the workers in the room were scrambling like the words had been screamed at them. The CEO had just enough time to chuckle at the mad dash to safety before a metal hand was wrapping itself into the hair at the base of his skull and pulling him into a rough press of lips.  
  
The diagnostic station made a few disjointed beeps of protest as Jack pushed Rhys back into it reasserting his control of the situation immediately.  
  
“How's it feel Rhysie, killing more than half a billion people in ten minutes?” Jack ran one hand along the younger man's leg and bit down sharply on his neck.  
  
The cyborg let out a gasp and rocked forward slightly with the older man's movement, “like I was unstoppable.”  
  
Jack smirked, the temptation to take that feeling from the man, push him to his knees, use him for a blow job and leave him wanting, hung at the edge of his brain. But no, he'd leave that for later, he'd let Rhys have his moment, for now.  
  
That being said he had discovered he quite liked another look for the thin man, and if prior encounters were any indication he suspected it would be received well. Upon successfully stripping the other man of his clothing he wrapped the cyborg's belt around his wrists, Rhys didn't even twitch, just waited patiently beneath him, this was a play he was quite used to by this point.    
  
What the younger man clearly hadn't been anticipating was when Jack plucked the pocket knife from his own dropped jeans and pressed it softly against Rhys' collarbone. However the surprise in the COO's face quickly melted into interest, a spark of lust in his eyes all but giving the go ahead.  
  
Very carefully the older man pressed just hard enough to bring blood welling to the surface, the bright red softly painting the nearly translucent skin under his hand. A gasp escaped Rhys and Jack rewarded the sound with a slow grind forward to push their hips together.  
  
As he cracked open a package of lubricant with his hands and then wrapped himself around both their lengths he also leaned forward to press his tongue into the wound. The heat and a salty metallic taste hit Jack's mouth, and the younger man let loose a shameless moan that echoed around the room. Jack grinned against the injury and proceeded to move his hand in time with each slow prod of his tongue.  
  
A small frustrated noise keened at the back of Rhys' throat as Jack started moving even slower the moment the younger man attempted to buck his hips forward.  
  
“We've been over this cupcake,” Jack spoke into the cut before clasping his mouth around it and biting down.  
  
“Please,” the word was a broken groan the cyborg's body almost vibrating with want, “Jack please, I need more.”  
  
Jack hummed a considering noise and plucked up the pocket knife from where he'd left it sitting on the diagnostic station. He pressed the blade lightly an inch under the first cut, “you sure you want more pumpkin?”  
  
The younger man's pupil's were blown wide and he nodded his head jerkily, “yes, please, do it.”  
  
The soft begging for Jack to slice him up almost did the CEO in right there; barely holding it together he sped up his hand while pressing down with the blade, a little deeper this time, the blood a little darker, and god did that look good against pale skin and blue tattoos.  
  
The moment he licked a stripe through the red Rhys was coming undone beneath him and Jack let go rapidly following the younger man over the edge. Collapsing against the younger man the CEO let out a groan and then reached up to run his cum covered hand through the blood, that looked even better.  
  
Rhys made a face at the action but didn't say anything, simply stealing a box of tissues off a nearby work station as soon as Jack loosened the belt around the younger man's wrists.  
  
Quickly cleaning off the COO began pulling his clothes back on while Jack simply sat down at the diagnostic station to smile at the pleasing 0 sitting in the box for lifeforms.  
  
Halfway through fastening his vest Rhys stopped to smirk at him, “you know, we should probably let the diagnostic technicians back in to do their jobs.”  
  
Jack sighed and stretched his arms out above his head, sometimes the younger man was no fun, “seems like an overrated department to me any ways.”  
  
Rhys snorted and rolled his eyes, “without them we have no one tracking the statistics on anything we encounter.”  
  
He sighed and reached for his pants, “oh fine.”  
  
The CEO was using a monitor as a makeshift mirror to fix his hair in when the alarm started blaring over the PA system.  
  
_"There has been a breach in holding, prisoner escape, all military personnel to the area, all employees are to stay in their department and report any strange activity to their direct supervisor."_  
  
Rhys scowled, “can we not have one day where things go right?”  
  
Jack curled his hands into fists, anger coursing through him like the old friend it was, they only had one surviving prisoner right now, and that was Tim.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo close to the end. This chapter was terrible to write by the way, so hopefully it isn't awful. I'm personally unimpressed with it, but I'm too tired to keep fiddling with it, so fuck it, I'm posting it. 
> 
> The number of people on the planet might seem low (half a billion) but I just figured there would be a similar amount of usable land to earth, and then a much smaller population - so I used Canadian population per square km and the square footage of usable land on earth to settle on half a billion.
> 
> Chuck me a comment if you've the time.


	26. Act Two // Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: Blood On My Hands (By, Nobody Beats the Drum)
> 
> Moodboard for this chapter [here](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/160545972188/moodboard-for-act-two-chapter-twelve-of-bitter).

_“Justice, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder._  
_Some see an innocent victim._  
_Others will see evil incarnate getting exactly what's deserved.”_  
-Emily Thorne  
  


* * *

**Act Two // Chapter Twelve**

* * *

  
The elevator seemed to move far too slowly, Jack was pacing in the tight enclosure while Rhys leaned against the wall pulling up station sensors on his echo eye.  
  
"Well?!" Jack snarled.  
  
Rhys' eyes narrowed but he refrained from snapping back, choosing instead to focus back on the sensors, "nothing, it's as if he's vanished."  
  
"How the hell does someone just vanish from our sensors?"  
  
"I don't-" something familiar caught the cyborg’s eye and he stopped to scroll backwards through the data.  
  
"You don't what cupcake?" Jack's voice grew deeper with his anger.  
  
"I found something..." Rhys scowled and turned his echo eye off.  
  
"Well don't keep me in suspense," the CEO responded as the elevator came to a halt.  
  
"We're being hacked, the camera's are on a loop and it's that same code from before," the cyborg hesitated, "which means there's no way to know what we're walking into here."  
  
The elevator doors slid open and a deserted hallway lay before them, there was no trace of the soldiers who should have been meeting them.  
  
"Son of a taint," Jack reached one hand out to the elevator controls depressing a button only to hear the flat tones of an automated voice.  
  
/Elevator jammed, if you can, please exit the elevator safely and in an orderly fashion./  
  
Rhys was suddenly glad Jack had insisted on him keeping his gun and shield on his person at all times.  
  
Scowling Jack peered down the hall before motioning for Rhys to follow him out. With a deep breath the younger man carefully unclipped his gun and then followed the CEO.  
  
They were halfway down the hall when a hand glowing bright white darted out and grasped onto the side of his skull.  
  
The now familiar alien code flooded his vision for a moment and then it ended just as suddenly. He was on the floor at Jack's feet and the older man was pointing a gun at someone.  
  
Rhys’ vision swam and he felt like he'd been on the worst bender of his life.  
  
"-you put the code there Jack," someone spat sounding disgusted, "I just used it."  
  
What the hell were they talking about? The command control? Had someone else taken that? Panic swelled up in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"You can't just hack cybernetics by touching someone," but Jack's voice sounded shaky, uncertain.  
  
"Rhys gets killing people, I get hacking with this," the clink of metal rang out and the cyborg finally managed to focus on Fiona, "it's kind of ironic really."  
  
The woman looked smug holding up a small metal device that definitely looked Eridian in origin, a few feet behind her was Tim with a slightly guilty expression.  
  
"Rhys, get up, shoot Jack," Fiona snapped.  
  
Did she not know about the command word? Fiona didn't know the first thing about hacking after all, she was probably doing it all by instinct. This was the woman who'd shouted 'enhance' at every piece of foreign technology they'd come across during their adventure across Pandora. Or maybe it just hadn't worked on him?  
  
"No, I'm good here thanks," Rhys responded staying seated on the floor if only to prove to himself that he could.  
  
Fiona's eyes narrowed, "that's not...I activated it, I said your stupid code."  
  
Shrugging the cyborg finally stretched his arms and pulled himself to his feet, "maybe your little doohickey is broken?"  
  
Jack was giving her a nasty grin, "well cupcake, shall we get this party started?"  
  
Rhys sighed rolling his eyes even as he aimed his pistol at Tim, "that was cheesy."  
  
"Dammit," Fiona slammed her hand into the wall and there was another burst of light, and then turrets were descending. Jack yanked Rhys backwards through a door by his collar, barely escaping the rain of bullets in the corridor.  
  
"She can control everything in the station," the cyborg's eyes widened, "what the hell do we do now?"  
  
"Escape, come back later," Jack seemed to be taking the turn of events oddly well, "won't be my first rodeo, and hey, at least this time they literally can't use the giant weapon, trust me that was not a good time."  
  
"How are we escaping?" Rhys paused, "and how do we know they won't just destroy the station after we leave?"  
  
Jack frowned, "good point...we'll have to jettison the device."  
  
"What?" the younger man’s voice was flat, "how will we jettison-"  
  
"Because I added that in as a function, if we activate it, it'll jettison and then head for the coordinates I gave it."  
  
"Why the hell is that even a function!?"  
  
Jack just chuckled and began prying at the panelling on the far end of the office they were hiding in, "remind me to tell you about Elpis sometime pumpkin."  
  
Grumbling to himself Rhys slowly approached where Jack was struggling, "what are you doing?"  
  
"A maintenance shaft should be on the other side of this panelling, we break through we can climb up."  
  
"How do you know where the maintenance shaft should be?"  
  
"I've seen the schematics."  
  
Seeing no point in arguing Rhys helped the older man peel back the panelling only to find more wall. By the time they were on their sixth spot on the wall, Jack was insisting that someone must have messed up the schematics, and Rhys was about ready to just go back out into the hall to face the turrets.  
  
"Ah ha," Jack declared when they finally broke through his tone suggesting he'd made a genius discovery, "told you there was a maintenance shaft here."  
  
"17% success rate. Wow, my hero," the sarcastic quip escaped before Rhys could grab hold of the the thought and he immediately clapped a hand over his own mouth. When was he going to learn to keep his mouth shut?  
  
"What the hell did you just say to me?" Jack was suddenly right in front of him and the younger man suddenly felt like his heart was in his throat. Not good.  
  
"I didn't uh...mean, it was," Rhys straightened his back and tried to calm his mind, he was past panicking like this, besides Jack wouldn't kill him, he need him, "I'm just tired, sorry."  
  
Jack gave him a final glowering once over and then apparently decided to let it go for the moment, "come on pumpkin, time to get moving, we don't have all day."  
  


* * *

  
It was all fine, he'd planned for this shit, last time he'd been two steps ahead, well this time he was five. No scum sucking vault hunter bandit filth was ever getting the better of Handsome Jack again.  
  
Who did Rhys think he was anyway? He certainly didn't see the string-bean coming up with any brilliant escape plans.  
  
Jack had decided to climb up the maintenance shaft first, this choice was primarily motivated by a desire to not be dragged down with the cyborg should he lose his grip and go flailing to the ground below.  
  
When they finally reached the correct floor the CEO was pleased to find the Eridian weapon untouched without Tim or Fiona in sight.  
  
"Keep watch on the door cupcake, gotta enter a few passwords before it'll jettison."  
  
Rhys frowned but pulled out his gun and turned towards the entrance.  
  
Jack was halfway through the second password when the entire station shook and another automated message played over the intercom.  
  
/Emergency procedures activated. All employees please make your way safely and calmly to the escape pods./  
  
Rhys' echo eye flashed and he immediately groaned, "that psycho."  
  
Jack finished the password and turned, "what?"  
  
"She's decoupled the main power core, we're running on backup, and the backup is not enough to keep us in orbit."  
  
Jack snorted, "she's stealing your move pumpkin."  
  
The younger man looked exasperated, "I honestly thought you'd be...I don't know, angrier."  
  
"And I would be, if I hadn't prepared for this," he hit the engage button and grinned.  
  
Walls wrapped around the Eridian device sealing it off from the room and then Jack watched satisfied as it jettisoned into space.  
  
"You prepared for Fiona using an Eridian hacking device to break into the station, help Tim escape, and then set the station on a collision course?" Rhys raised one eyebrow.  
  
"Well no, not the specifics, but between Zarpedurp, the warrior, and then your antics I learned my lesson, always have a backup plan."  
  
"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or concerned."  
  
The CEO scoffed, "I'm always impressive cupcake; now we have a shuttle to catch."  
  
They had almost reached the executive shuttle bay when a familiar voice shouting caused Jack to pause in his stride and halt Rhys with him.  
  
"What do you mean you just assumed we could grab an escape pod, you didn't plan," that was most certainly Tim.  
  
"It worked last time, besides I'm pretty sure that computer said there were ships this way so it's fine," Fiona.  
  
"I don't know why I'm surprised tha-" Tim's voice stopped dead as they skidded around the corner and he caught sight of Jack and Rhys.  
  
"Well, well, look what we have here Rhysie, the dumb-ass bandit who cut the power to those turrets they were using, and my favourite little traitor."  
  
Jack spared a brief glance over at the younger man to watch that cruel smile he’d come to enjoy so much spread across his face.  
  
"I would have had to be on your side to be a traitor Jack," Tim's voice was strained, his hand hovering over his gun.  
  
"I own you, you moron, you don't get to choose sides," Jack rolled his eyes, "but fine we can do this the hard way, I mean Lillith didn't seem to enjoy the process, but maybe horrible agony is your cup of tea."  
  
Tim took a step backwards and he wrapped one arm around himself, "wouldn't...wouldn't that be a waste of all that uh...training Sir?"  
  
"Don't you dare," Fiona turned to glower at her companion.  
  
Jack chuckled, "come on Timtam, just give up and come back to the right side of this before I have to do something you're going to regret."  
  
Tim's head dropped dejected and he took a hesitant step forward.  
  
"You bastard," Fiona snarled backing towards the executive shuttle bay doors.  
  
Jack had exactly enough time to feel smug about his victory before his shield was suddenly taking bullets and Tim was yelling at Fiona to to run.  
  
Rhys was ducking back around the corner and returning fire but hat girl was already going through the doors with a brief sad backwards glance.  
  
That bitch was stealing their shuttle.  
  
But Jack didn't have much time to think about that because Tim was like a madman. His doppelganger was unloading every bullet he had almost carelessly down the hall, his boot heels clicking on the tile as he walked forward, not even bothering to try using cover.  
  
"Son of a taint!" Jack opened fire on the man, now he really was angry.  
  


* * *

  
Tim's shield didn't hold up long, but long enough, by the time he dropped bleeding to the floor Rhys had already gotten an alert on his echo eye to let him know the executive shuttle had departed.  
  
Jack was pacing back and forth next to Tim's slowly bleeding form, "you idiot," he was in a rage, "the amount of money I spent on you, the amount of shit I've let you get away with, and you go blow it all now? On hat girl!? What're you in love with her or something you dumb stupid sap, she didn't even try and save you, ya know that right? Just left you to your stupid suicide mission."  
  
Tim reached out one shaky hand and wrapped it around Jack's ankle, "was just hoping to kill you."  
  
A bullet ripped through the older man's shoulder as Timothy Lawrence breathed his last rattled breath the man using his close proximity to easily overwhelm Jack’s shield.  
  
A shout of pure fury escaped Jack's throat and he clasped his hand over the injury. Then he landed a kick into the side of the now cooling corpse and shouted again.  
  
As much as Rhys really didn't want to get in the middle of that, they were running out of time. "We're going to have to take one of the smaller shuttles, it'll get us to Promethea at least."  
  
Jack let out a frustrated puff of air, "why wouldn't we just take a different space shuttle?"  
  
"Because they're all in the hanger bay, and this space station is about two minutes from tearing itself apart."  
  
Jack glared down at the corpse again, "fine - let's go."  
  
Rhys watched from inside the shuttle as yet another space station broke apart. He briefly wondered if he'd bother to build in enough escape pods? He couldn't remember. He'd intended to of course, he hadn't wanted to be Hyperion all over again, but there had been quite a few things cut in the final stages...  
  
Tossing the idle thought to the side as unimportant he returned to attempting to pilot their shuttle safely to the ground while quietly promising himself that one day he was going to kill Fiona, very slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the delay. This chapter hated me. (Alternatively I'm bad at writing action, your pick really.)
> 
> Just the epilogue left! Oh, and the sequel also, for which I almost have the first chapter already written because I for some reason could write that just fine. 
> 
> (Side note: if you have any thoughts or ideas for this version of the characters that you'd love to see in a one shot let me know, I was thinking about maybe also doing some little stories that take place during this whole thing. Outside perspectives, or maybe just more smut. *finger guns*)
> 
> Please do leave a comment if you have the time, I love hearing from you guys!


	27. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: We'll Meet Again (By, Vera Lynn)

 

_“The most fatal illusion is the settled point of view._  
 _Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one.”_   
\- Brooks Atkinson  
  


* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

 

  
Soft sobs echoed through the otherwise silent building in Sanctuary.

  
Fiona's face was grim and grew grimmer with every passing second of listening to Tina cry.

  
Another vault hunter lost, the ever growing garden of statues outside was beginning to feel less like a memorial and more like the corpses of friends glaring with accusing eyes.

  
Vaughn had a helpless expression as he held the small girl while her tears rapidly soaked his collar. Gortys for once seemed to be without cheer, curled into a small ball next to Loaderbot. Axton and Gaige were seated nearby clearly at a loss for what to say, not that Fiona could blame them. She had no idea what to say either.

  
She'd failed again, and not just Tim this time, oh no, Rhys' insanity had taken out an entire planet of people. Worse still, in the chaos of fleeing the station she'd lost track of the pair of Atlas executives and Dahl had yet to track them down on the planets surface. The Atlas corporation had already bribed it's way out of trials which meant if Jack and Rhys made it off Promethea they were legally in the clear.

  
Fiona felt drained, no not just drained, empty. The last few months had been too much, in trying to stop Rhys she had lost her sister, her friends, her followers. She was at the end of her rope.

  
The door the the sombre room opened to reveal Moxxi, "finally some good news at last; Krieg's back, and he found Maya."

  
Tina pushed herself away from Vaughn with an eager expression, "really?"

  
"Really darlin' they're just outside paying their respects."

  
Tina scrambled off the couch and ran for the door with a small sniffle closely followed by Gortys and Loaderbot. As soon as they left Moxxi approached the remaining people in the room, "any news from Promethea?"

  
"Nothing, and Dahl still says if we land they can't promise we'll be able to leave again,” Fiona grumbled with a glare at her echo-communicator.

  
"We did think it would be worse," Vaughn spoke frowning, "didn't you say it was planets in your vision Fiona, as in plural?"

  
"Yeah but they managed to eject the weapon before we crashed the station, so who knows, it could get worse yet," Fiona responded bitterly.

  
As Axton raised one hand to comment a bright flash of purple light filled the room and quite suddenly there was an Eridian in the room.

  
"Where have you been?" Gaige exclaimed, "you vanished just before Rhys' trial and then everything went to shit!"

  
"Apologies. But I had to check on something. We have much to discuss Vault Hunters."

 

* * *

 

A lone figure stepped out of a deserted building, looted supplies strapped to his back. A makeshift hood obscured his features but the telltale orange glow peeked from it's depths as the man halted in place and took a quick look around.

  
"I know you're out there, may as well come out now," the man's voice crackled as he spoke.

  
Slowly two people in Atlas uniforms stepped from the rocks with their guns raised.

  
"Should've run when you had a chance, now we're going to gut you for all those broken promises," snarled the one on the left.

  
A light snort of amusement came from the hooded man, "if you were smart you would have hid as soon as you saw me and sold the info to the nearest Dahl scout. I hear the rewards pretty good, a million dollars and a ship off this rock right?"

  
"Two million now, but we need you and the Handsome Jerk-off, you tell us where he's hiding and we'll only skin half your face off."

  
"Ah," he held up one finger like he'd just remembered something, "right, hey Jack you wanna let them know where you are?"

  
A bullet cut through the skull of the one on the right, the other one screeched and pulled the trigger on his gun only to have it explode into pieces. The would-be-attacker fell to the ground, screaming and clutching at his injuries while Rhys approached.

  
The tall man sneered and pressed one boot heel into the man's injured side, "anyone else with you?"

  
"No no nonono," the long stream of ‘no’ was more begging than a true response.

  
"And you wouldn't lie to me of course, because you know how long I can make this last right?"

  
With a pained rasp the man shook his head violently, "there's no one else."

  
"I believe you," Rhys smiled sweetly and unloaded a bullet into his ex-employees skull.

  
"You done playing with your food cupcake?" A dry voice drew the cyborg's attention.

  
Turning to view Jack his smile broke into a grin, "I thought you liked it when I played with my food?"

  
The older man had begrudgingly adopted a wide brimmed hat to hide his features somewhat but had refused to remove his mask. A mask that was currently curling at the lips into an amused expression. "I like it better when we're not sitting ducks pumpkin."

  
Rhys nodded and bent down to loot the bodies, speaking as he moved, "I finally found you an insta-health for that shoulder."

  
"About damn times, you'd think no one on this stupid planet had ever heard of Anshin!"

  
"Most of them hadn't," the younger man commented.

  
"Well no wonder this place is such a shit hole," Jack snarled kicking at the nearest rock.

  
"Let me see your shoulder," Rhys held up the insta-health.

  
With a grimace Jack acquiesced and pried back the fabric of his shirt and the makeshift bandages covering his injury.

  
Copper flakes fell to the ground and Rhys frowned at the bluish tinge the surrounding skin had taken on, "you're lucky I found this, pretty sure it's infected."

  
Jack grunted, "just get on with it cupcake."

  
The older man winced as Rhys pressed the needle into the centre of the injury and them depressed the stopper. It was sort of fascinating to watch, the infection rapidly receding and the bullet wound finally closing up. Just another scar to go with Jack's collection of them.

  
Rhys sighed, "how are we getting off this hellhole?"

  
Jack chuckled, "we've only been here a couple weeks Rhysie, I didn't mark you as a quitter."

  
"I'm not," he frowned, "but Dahl is everywhere, we'll be found sooner or later."

  
Jack snorted, "don't worry that stupid pretty head of yours pumpkin, you've got me remember, and we're getting off this planet even if I have to personally murder every person in our path."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Epilogue is shorter predictably, but not to worry, I'm already working on the sequel. I have the beginning and the end mostly worked out, I just have to plan the middle and we will be all set. 
> 
> Toss me a comment. Also now that I'm here I'm glad this isn't where I'm ending it.


End file.
